


Peter Parker needs to stop walking on ceilings.

by InkyGoat



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alien Technology, Anxiety Attacks, Avengers Tower, Blood and Injury, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, More tags to be added, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, Slow To Update, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2020-06-22 08:39:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19663768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyGoat/pseuds/InkyGoat
Summary: A series of events following the times in which Peter walks on the ceiling. (4/5~6 Chapters written)Old: As the title says, Peter Parker should not have been walking on the ceiling in the Avengers Tower common room. It's just too risky. Secrets and all that.Or - Clint needs to stop shooting arrows at any given opportunity.





	1. Avengers return

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, the Civil War shinanigans happened but they were resolved within a couple of months (post Homecoming) and the Avengers are coming back together!
> 
> (Also, first time posting here I would love any critique or feedback that you may have. Thanks!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The accords are settled, the Avengers are coming back, but Spider-Man/Peter Parker doesn't know. Awkward breakfast? Oh and Clint shoots arrows.

_– there was an arrow in the ceiling, three in the wall and one beeping in the couch._

_Peter didn't have the time to react._

* * *

Peter really should have double-checked with Tony what he meant when the man said that the Accords were settled and that the rogue Avengers were coming home. Or at least confirm which home he meant.

So of course, the one weekend he finally agrees to sleepover at the Tower, the ex-rogue Avengers were back in town. Maybe it was because the old team was coming back, or maybe it was just Tony catching up on his promised gifts, but the duo spent the entire night working on various designs for the team.

The Widow's many weapons.

Falcon's new and improved Redwing.

Different Hawkeye arrow designs.

Even a prototype for Cap's shield.

Peter got really excited about that one. Now he can say that he has held two versions of Captain's shield, albeit he did steal one of them during a fight, but that still counts. Of course, Tony being Tony, and Peter looking up to his idol, the pair ended up staying up late. So late in fact that the teen simply passed out on the couch in the workshop.

By the time he woke up, someone had put a blanket on him, and despite probably staying up many hours later than the teen, Tony was nowhere to be seen. Their work during the night was scattered about, all in a big mess, and all in different parts of the workshop.

Getting up Peter stretched, yawned and nearly fell over again while standing up. He was still pretty caught up about the mechanical issue that they had with the shield prototype and quickly made his way over to take a look at the problem once more. After a short, but deep sleep, and looking at the problem from a new angle, Peter suddenly realized their issue. It just clicked.

Double-checking it, no triple checking it, every time he ran the equation with and without F.R.I.D.A.Y., it all worked perfectly.

Shield in hand the teen sprinted out of the lab to show off to his mentor. F.R.I.D.A.Y. quickly opened the elevator doors, already setting the destination to the level Tony was on. Barely keeping his excitement down, Peter didn't pause to take a look around as the doors slid open.

“Mr Stark! Mr Stark! I fixed the issue we had yesterday! It was in –”

Peter stopped mid-sentence, the shield clattering loudly as he dropped it. Like a deer in headlights, he was frozen in place. Standing in the kitchen of the Tower's common lounge were none other than Falcon, the marksman assassin Hawkeye and Captain freaking America himself.

Shocking as that was by itself, the domestic scene of the room was making it all worse, strange and surreal even. The two bird-themed heroes were sitting at the dining table, while America's golden boy was in casual clothes and making pancakes. _Does he have a beard?_

Peter was slightly too caught up in the moment to even realize that he was gawking. Or that the trio was just as surprised at his sudden appearance, if not more.

“Hey, um, Clint, tell me you see the teen who just ran in with Cap's shield?”

 _Oh shit, the shield._ Finally realizing he dropped it, Peter scooped it up and fully walked into the room. No point hiding it now. They saw him after all.

“Err…hi?”

“What are you doing on this level, kid?” Steve Rogers himself just spoke to him, in civilian form no less; Peter can live a full, happy life now. If he survives the next couple of minutes.

“S-sorry, I… I intern here.” That was the agreed-upon cover with Mr Stark, and at this point, it wasn't even that much of a lie either.

“Intern? Tony takes those?”

“Stark is just full of surprises isn't he,”

“Whatever, Tin-Can can tell us about it later,” Wilson turned to Peter again, “But how does an intern have access to this level? And Cap's shield?”

Ah, yes. The age-old question everyone working here keeps asking him.

“I'm his personal assistant,” Peter answered as if on cue. The trio was even more taken back. Apparently, a lot can change in a couple months. “Well,” Steve actual-Captain-America spoke up, “I'm sure you have no reason to lie,” There were many, but the team decided to roll with it for now, “So, what was the issue with my shield?”

“Oh. Right.” Peter was still holding _that_ shield. “Come over, these are almost ready.” His heart may have sped up slightly, but it was far too rude to refuse pancakes from America's hero.

“So, Mr Stark and I were working on it yesterday and…” Walking over to the table, Peter began rambling about some mechanical and engineering complication. Putting it on the table, he tried his best to explain both the issue and solution without making a mistake and embarrassing himself. Peter was too focused on his presentation to notice the impressed looks on the three superheroes' faces. Or at least two of them.

Sam was more tired than anything and was also worried that this was a new miniature Tony. Okay yes, as troubling as that fact could be, it was still quite impressive to hear a teenager ramble on and on about advanced mechanical complications.

“…so I woke up this morning and realized what we were skipping over this part and –”

That part, in particular, caught a certain assassin's attention, “Whoa, whoa, this is all cool and all but woke up this morning? Like here?”

“Oh yeah, I sort of slept over in the lab, we stayed up like, really, really late and all so…” The kid really was like Stark.

“Tony let you sleep over?” Clint teased, “Huh, you two must be quite close then. It’s just that Tony normally hates teaching people.” It was just a light jab, but Peter felt his heart pace quicken and hands tremble slightly. _Secret identity._

Maybe sitting down and talking to the Avengers wasn't the best idea, especially for him. Suddenly realizing his short pause of silence, Peter scrambled for some answer. Something. C'mon big brain. C'mon.

“What the _hell_?”

That wasn't anyone in the group.

No, in fact, that voice came from the hallway. Tony Stark himself stood in the doorway, in one of his fancy suits, and visibly panicking. The genius quickly strode over, taking in the sight of his intern, or secret vigilante Spider-Man, talking to his old teammates. _And was that the old man's prototype shield?_ This wasn't supposed to happen.

Tony thought the kid was out cold for the morning, enough time for the team to have breakfast, get down to the press conference and then maneuver their way over to the jet. No biggie. No first meetings. Easy.

“So Pete, what's going on here?” Tony inquired walking over.

“Hello Mr Stark, I walked in on them.” Straight to the point, “Oh, and I found out what that problem we had was!” The teen, as excited as he was, looked suddenly unsure of himself and quite a bit nervous at the fact that he was presenting a technical solution to his idol.

“Did you now? Knew you would eventually kiddo, show me what’s up,” Reaching over Tony gave the teenager a reassuring pat on the back and settled in around the table. After all, the pancakes were ready.

That was the only reason.

* * *

The two genius's nerves were soon gone. There was still some tension between the two parties, but that was slowly going down too. Peter forgot about his alter ego secret, or that he was talking to _the Avengers_ while Tony decided that introducing the group to Peter might not be as hard. Introducing Spider-Man though, that's a whole new layer of stress.

“So kid, how old are you?” Steve was really making an effort to get to know Peter, “Clint is guessing around 20,” A quiet yell of betrayal was heard. “Just starting college, he says. I say a few years younger, you're smart but definitely still a teenager,”

“What? I'm, err, I'm actually only 15,”

Tony wasn't really listening at this point. He was pretty sure he heard Clint speak up in surprise though. But at the moment he was a little preoccupied with his two-people-are-actually-one and that one person has met his old teammates donning both masks; crime-fighting web-slinger and shy genius teenager.

Nothing terrible has happened so far.

Excluding the fact that Spider-Man fought Captain and the two birds, but it could have been under much worse circumstances. From then on, Tony only really heard some small sections of the ongoing conversation.

“Whaaat? Star Wars is the best space adventure. Full stop. The stories, the heroes, everything!”

“Don't know what you're on about squirt, Interstellar, The Martian and all those fantasy and yet somehow realistic ones are way better.”

 _Oh boy, Clint started_ that _conversation with Peter._

Back to his thoughts however, Tony was pretty sure the team will find out soon who Spider-Man, and in turn Peter Parker, really is. So maybe telling them straight away would be better. After all, they're trying to rebuild their old relationships. No more lies, right? Once Tony makes it through the day he should talk to Peter about it. Right now, he should just focus on his pancakes and tune back into the conversation.

Listening carefully, he could hear that Peter's voice stopped shaking every so often by now and that the team truly believes that he is nothing more than an intern. For now, the cover was safe.

“I mean, this must be weird for you, Captain America himself making pancakes?”

“What's wrong with me making pancakes?”

“No, no, it's kind of nice knowing even world-saving superheroes live a domestic life,”

Tony huffed out a small chuckle at the kid's statements. _It's not like you do that yourself, everyday kid._ Only a few select people know about Peter's nightly antics. Happy, Pepper obviously, Rhodey but only on accident, and of course the teen's aunt, May Parker. Peter had reinforced his want for secrecy, so in the end, the choice should be his about whether or not telling the team, but these were the Avengers. They could be trusted.

“Sorry to disappoint but that's the only one of us you won't catch eating breakfast like a normal person, pretty sure that guy lives at night and night only.”

_Wait, who?_

“The guy could just be getting closer to us to break in or something,” Clint added on.

“Yeah, we don't even know who he is,” Sam sounded slightly annoyed, “Every time I hear about him it's always during the night, all around Queens too, kinda shady if you ask me.”

_Hold up, Queens?_

Tony's shoulders jerked slightly upon his realization. The billionaire looked up in time to see Peter lose some color in his face and start fiddling with his sleeve, the teen's telltale sign that he was uncomfortable. Peter even began nervously fiddling with his food, avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table and focusing on his pancakes.

Perhaps this wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Nothing is around here; Sam was salty about the guy beating him, and even Vision expressed his uncertainty about the masked vigilante.

“W-well, the guy protects people, surely he isn't like, bad?” Peter felt his throat close up, and was once again brutally reminded of the need for secrecy about his identity.

“Sam lay off the Spider, you're just being petty because he beat you,” Steve Rogers once again playing the responsible-adult card, “But Peter, he is kind of right about the identity thing.” Scratch that. “We don't know anything about him, what if he just goes rogue one day?”

“Uh, sure, but he wouldn't though right?”

“Yeah, but we can't be sure so –”

“Alright, that's enough for the morning!” Tony quickly spoke up before this could spiral into some argument. “You guys are here for the press and to pick up some stuff, so chop-chop.” Clint groaned in annoyance but complied. After the archer picked up everyone's plates, all empty by now, he headed off to one of the many old bedrooms. Steve followed, muttering something probably Spider-Man related under his breath, while Sam said he was going to go ahead to the conference room.

As the elevator doors closed and footsteps died down, Tony finally released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Peter relaxing as well. The Spider-Man talk must have got to him a bit.

“Don't mind them, I'm sure they'll like Spider-Man more once they really get to know you.”

“You sure about that? Seems like having a secret identity is a constant problem now,” Getting up the teen moved over to the couches and fell face forward onto them, “What if one of them follows me to see who I am? I know they're the Avengers but still!”

Well, there's the answer to that question. Peter didn't want more people knowing.

“C'mon now,” Tony walked over, crouching down near the sprawled out teenager in a hope to be more reassuring, “Since I was the only one who found out about you, I should be able to able to keep it that way.”

Peter mumbled something into the plush but didn't argue. His stomach now full, Peter's limbs felt heavier and mind tired. He may have met his heroes properly now, but thinking back on it now he should have just gone back to sleep when he had the chance.

“Mr Stark, didn't you say you had some conference? You can go ahead I'll hang around here or in the lab,”

“Right. That.”

Getting up Tony reluctantly turned towards the elevator, quickly running over the list of things that needed to be addressed or reinforced. Talking to himself, he promptly hopped into the elevator, letting F.R.I.D.A.Y. take him down. “Don't burn anything in my workshop!”

Right as the doors closed, there was a quiet _I won't!_ And then silence consumed him.

It was one conference.

Get through this and things can start going back to normal. The billionaire could already feel a headache brewing, but he had to see this through. The team relied on it, and he promised Pepper he would actually be there this time.

* * *

_“What are the future plans for the Avengers?”_

Easy, protect the Earth and it’s people as we’ve always done.

_“Mr Rogers, can we be sure that this won’t happen again? Possibly at a crucial moment?"_

We’re on our way to recovery, and we can assure you that no matter the conflict we will always come together to fight against it.

_“What can you tell us about the Queens vigilante Spider-Man? Will his identity be announced after the signing of the new accords?”_

_Tony swallowed down the bubble that formed in his throat. Steve was answering that question._

Well, seeing as even we don't know his true identity we would prefer it that way, though we would first need to locate him. So Spider-Man if you're watching, then know that we would like to discuss this with you in the near future.

 _I should add on that maybe._ And as the one who initially brought the guy in, I can say first hand that he does not wish for his identity to be public knowledge. So back off.

_“Ms Rushman, has Nick Fury commented on the situation in Germany?”_

As you can see, Fury isn’t here so we can’t exactly tell you much about his opinion on things. All I can say is that he will continue to work closely with the Avengers to monitor potential threats.

_“Mr Stark, what would you say caused the break up of the Avengers?”_

Lies. Mistrust. The accords.

Tony’s heart leapt to his mouth, his breathing getting heavier. He should answer by now, the tension in the room was growing, but he couldn’t get his mouth to move. _Since when was the room so big?_ It’s been quite a pause by now, he should just answer with something.

“It’s – It’s a complicated issue, and I’m not sure we should really get into all that so – We just don’t quite have the time for that today,” Small steps Stark, “This press conference today isn’t to dwell on the past but look forward to the future and to reassure everyone out there that the Avengers are just as strong as before. No squabble will tear us apart, not for long anyway. Thank you.”

Tony may be running, but he thinks he handled it with some grace. The press wouldn’t dig into it too much, they will realize that the question was slightly too personal. Striding out of the room, the genius thought back to his breathing exercises and concentrated on getting it under control. _Hold for 10._ In the distance, he heard the other members say their own ending phrase, something about justice and ‘everything being in the past’. _Think ‘relax’_. Tony couldn’t quite care what they said right now, he just needed to get out; doesn’t matter where he just needed to keep walking. _Inhale for 3._ What does the team think of him now that he ran out of there; he knows Pepper would be a bit upset. He knows she wanted to get some good photos of the team together. _Exhale for 3. Repeat._

As his breathing slowed, Tony stopped mid-stride.

The hallway he ended up in was empty, some old unused storage area. Most of the items that were once there have now been shipped off to the compound upstate, this time by trucks rather than plane.

 _Plane._ If Peter, or Spider-Man really, hadn’t stopped that plane Tony would have ended up in so much trouble. Hundreds of weapon prototypes and dozens of arc reactors and official Avenger gear all could have been lost to that metal winged old guy and his little corrupt organization.

The United Nation’s view on superheroes may have shifted completely against Tony if he lost so many weapons; he really owes that kid big time. Plus he took the suit when the kid needed it most. They should work together on some new Spider-Man stuff, Peter may have enjoyed inventing new Hawkeye arrows or holding another Cap shield, but he needs his own protection too.

That Iron-Spider suit could always be upgraded, little tweaks here and there. The kid probably has his own ideas and preference in things.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. could you tell me where Peter is right now?” The A.I. was hesitant. “Mr Parker is currently in the common room walking on the ceiling.” _Oh come on._ Tony picked up his pace as the elevator doors opened.

“Damn kid, he’s going to get caught by someone again. Take me up F.R.I.”

The ride was smooth and fast, and yet Tony was getting jittery at the thought of another Rhodey situation. He had to calm his friend down for hours when the guy walked in on Peter napping on the ceiling. Maybe the kid found it more relaxing up there ever since he got his abilities, but it freaked everyone out the first time they encountered it.

Tony still denies that he ‘screamed and collapsed on the floor in fear’, as Pepper put it.

The elevator made a calm ding noise, and doors slid open, and the common room was…

A mess. Oh no.

This was worse than anything he prepared himself for today.

Why is this, how did this even…?

* * *

How on Earth did Peter end up here? First of all, since when did Hawkeye even get into the room and secondly, why was the dude’s first instinct to shoot an arrow at him.

Peter was just sitting on the ceiling, in different clothes and wearing the Spidey mask. Nothing wrong. It felt nicer, calming even, to be upside down like a real spider, especially when he was stressed and overthinking things.

After Tony left, Peter stayed on the couch for a while, rethinking his life choices and coming to the conclusion that morning breakfast with the Avengers was indeed the worst thing he could have done. He should have just walked back into the elevator and ran.

The old team clearly disproves of Spider-Man, and Captain America himself thought he should be older than he really is to work with Tony. What will he say when he finds out the vigilante he dislikes _and_ the way too young intern are one and the same? That’s just a double negative.

 _Double negatives make a positive,_ Peter thought, smiling at that dumb joke MJ made, _it does in math anyway,_ she had added on.

After what felt like hours of lying face down on the couch and contemplating his life, Peter finally decided to move. A quick trip to his room later, and he plopped back down on the couches in fresh clothing. In spite of having a long night and exciting, yet troubling, morning, Peter couldn't just fall asleep.

Reaching over the teenager grabbed the TV remote, turning it on to the current press conference that the Avengers should be starting. Closing his eyes, Peter wasn’t even planning on actually sitting and watching the interviews, just some noise to fill the silence in the room. So he stretched out on the couch, half listening and half pondering the idea of miniature spider robots that he could control somehow.

That is until a particular phrase from the TV caught his attention.

The moment ‘Spider-Man’ was mentioned, he instantly tensed up.

_“What does the team have to say about the Queens vigilante Spider-Man? Will his identity be announced after the signing of the new accords?”_

Fantastic. Now he knows that the old Avengers hate him and the press is after him. Well, after Spider-Man but if they find out who he is then they will be after Peter Parker too; and Aunt May, and all his classmates and friends.

_“Well, seeing as even we don't know his true identity we would prefer it that way, though we would first need to locate him. So Spider-Man if you're watching, then know that we would like to discuss this with you in the near future."_

“Yeah good luck with that Cap,” Peter muttered quietly. Fortunately Tony stepped in to smooth things over about the whole secret identity thing. Seriously, no one seems to grasp the concept of the mask. It’s there for a reason.

His head was pounding by now, feeling as though it would burst at any second. The paranoia was getting impossible. Launching himself off the couch, Peter bounced over to the wall, quickly scaling it until he was pacing up above. It helped all right? Sometimes he ended up doing his homework hanging upside down.

Feeling around in his pockets, Peter pulled out his Spider-Man mask. Maybe Karen can help him out. Her calm manner always helped him out on patrol. Pulling it on, he heard her usual greeting along with a warning that his heart rate was elevated, and settled down (up?) on the ceiling.

So, of course, that’s when it all went to shit.

It all started with some barely noticeable shuffling noise below him; however, his spidey-sense didn’t alert him of anything, so Peter just assumed it was the air-conditioner moving papers around. Talking quietly to Karen about his morning, Peter looked out on the city landscape in front of him. Being upside-down made it all look like the buildings were reaching down from the sky above, it made it all look quite poetic actually.

He was relaxing, his senses calming down. That is until he felt a tingle in his neck.

Before he could even turn around to see what was the issue, the tingle turned into a full-blown scream. Acting on instinct rather than reaction, Peter leapt to the side, smashing into the wall and fumbling to keep himself from plummeting to the ground.

Where he was just a split-second before, an arrow was lodged into the roof.

_What. What. Why?_

Glancing around in a wild panic, Peter tried to look out for the telltale sign of Hawkeye being in the room. Behind the counter, he could just make out a mop of brown hair. He talked to the guy this morning, and now Peter is crawling on the ceiling and walls. Seriously, what could have possibly driven Clint to shoot an arrow at Peter? He was just wearing his Spider-Man mask and –

_“The guy could just be getting closer to us to break in or something,”_

_Oh._ Okay, Clint probably thought Spider-Man broke into the Tower to steal sensitive data or Stark inventions or something.

“Hey, umm, are you going to need that arrow back or can I keep it?” Deflecting his fear with that usual Spider-Man jabber, Peter slowly began to crawl down. But before he even got within a few feet of the floor, another couple of arrows whistled through the air.

Flipping off the wall, Peter elegantly landed on the couches, before tumbling off those too and hiding behind them instead. By then there was an arrow in the ceiling, three in the wall and one beeping in the couch.

_Hold up, beeping?_

Peter didn't have the time to react.

The arrowhead exploded, sending both the couch and Peter flying across the room.

He couldn’t hear, his ears were ringing and head spinning. His senses were in overdrive, every noise in the room and all the rooms nearby were as if they were right next to him.

The sound of the elevator working. Little echoes of people talking. A fly crawling on the wall. The vibration in the floor of someone’s footsteps.

_“Peter!”_

Who’s that?

_“Peter?”_

Who’s calling him?

_“That’s the kid…”_

Too many voices.

_“You shot him!?”_

Shut up.

_“…but he dodged!”_

So loud.

_“…any better!”_

* * *

As Tony walked in the room, he was greeted with a blast in the face. No, literally. An explosion. Even though he was far enough away not to be hurt by flying debris, he still stumbled backwards, mostly from shock.

_Barton’s shock wave arrow. Why would the idiot need to set that thing off?_

Trying to collect his thoughts, Tony rushed out the elevator to see Clint running across the room to where the couch area was destroyed. The archer pulled out another arrow along the way, slid next to a small figure on the floor and aimed his bow at it.

A small figure with a red mask and half-closed white lenses.

Tony never felt so terrified for the teenager’s life than at that moment. Peter was still recovering from the blast, with Clint looming over him an arrow locked and ready to finish the fight.

“PETER!”

Clint glanced up to see Tony storming over. Then looked down again, realization dawning on his face. “Peter?” the archer couldn’t believe it, “That’s the kid? Tony what the hell I _shot_ at him!”

“You SHOT HIM?” Tony’s blood ran cold.

“NO! No! I shot _at_ him, but he dodged!”

“Well, that doesn’t make it any better!” This kid was walking on ceilings, and now he’s unconscious on the floor. Goddamn secrets and secret identities, and why did Peter change clothes and put on the mask.

Kneeling beside the boy, Tony barely managed to lift the kid’s head safely. His hands shook too much with fear, worst scenarios running through his head.

 _He’s strong, he’s fine._ But Clint caught him off guard. _It’s Peter, though._ He didn’t have his wed-shooters. He thought he was safe.

However, tugging on the mask Tony’s hands were stopped by none other than the teen he was holding up. After a few seconds of dizziness and barely coherent thoughts, Peter had managed to regain full awareness of his surrounding. Well, he hardly felt his head being lifted, and his ears were still ringing, but he could make out the two shapes above him.

“Mr Stark?”

At hearing the kid’s voice, Tony instantly relaxed, the tension around his heart loosening. He was fine, just shocked probably.

“Kid, I-I’m so sorry! I thought you…that it was, and it is, but like I didn’t know and, shit, I could have seriously hurt you!” Clint was evidently feeling very guilty, knowing that Spider-Man was just a kid. A kid he met and talked to and quite liked, and he had just shot arrow after arrow at that same kid.

“H-hey Mr Barton, wow, that was scary, huh?” Realizing that his head was being cradled by Tony, I am Iron Man, Stark, Peter hastily sat up. The action caused him to hiss in pain slightly, but he shrugged off the hands that came to help him. “Maybe, let’s just play a game of Uno next time instead of 'bow and arrow dodge ball'?”

The two adults couldn’t help but chuckle at the kid’s suggestion, mostly because the Avenger’s board game nights often ended up nearly the same way. Also, because ‘bow and arrow dodge ball’ was a very light way to say ‘shooting arrows at a poor unsuspecting teenager’.

“No, seriously, dude,” Clint spoke up again, “I owe you one. I don’t know what I would have done if one of those arrows actually hit you,”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Wouldn’t be the first time if they did,” Peter laughed lightly, not noticing Tony’s concerned look, “That last one though, oh my god, it sent me flying!”

When looking back on it, the three of them would laugh about it. Tony asked Clint to stay quiet about Peter’s identity and made the latter promise to stop walking on the ceiling if he even wanted a secret identity at this point.

Although hesitant to lie to his friends, the archer eventually caved in. His opinion about Spider-Man also changed to the better; even after one meeting, he knew Peter wouldn’t suddenly go rogue and start robbing banks or whatever. The kid had too big of a heart to do so.

Unfortunately for Peter though, Clint began to occasionally throw stuff at him to see if he’d dodge. Pillows, stationary, even an apple once that Peter ended up catching and walking away with. It was better than arrows anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I continue this? This was originally supposed to be a completely different thing (that other idea might came back when this is done)  
> If I will continue this then it will probably be something like:  
> '5 times Peter Parker didn't need to walk on the ceiling + 1 time he did'  
> or  
> '5 times Spider-Man walked on the ceiling + 1 time Peter Parker did'  
> Either way, there will probably be some underlying longer story. If there are any scenerios you think might work please write it down below, I look at all the comments!
> 
> Once again, first time posting here and I would love any critique or feedback that you may have.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Warehouse mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toome's weapons are still out there, and Peter is called in as Spider-Man to help the Avengers. He gets on the ceiling again, yes, but maybe this time it turned out to be for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After many encouragements, here is the continuation of the previous chapter.

Tony Stark has personally contacted Peter Parker exactly eight times now.

Once when the kid got home and Tony was sitting in their living room, chatting with Aunt May; he then dragged Peter away to Germany to fight Captain America and half of the Avengers, so that was a good start. Then Tony made sure Peter didn’t drown in a lake and scolded him for taking on the Vulture by himself. However, even though it was poorly timed, Tony also called to congratulate him on saving his school decathlon team in D.C. Shortly after he then scolded him again and took away his suit.

After the Vulture fiasco, however, he contacted Peter five more times to see if the kid wanted to work on some new projects. The point is it seemed like leaving the kid alone would be worse than trying to help him, even if that option too isn’t ideal either.

Nevertheless, when Tony’s attention was once again brought back to the holographic display in front of him, he sighed in annoyance, knowing exactly what the Avengers were about to ask of him. He should have talked to Clint more about Peter’s identity. Now just after a couple of days, the archer has nearly convinced the entire team that Spider-Man is trustworthy and should, therefore, be called in for missions.

“Tony, I think it would be best if Spider-Man helped out. Can you contact him?”

This could not be happening. Although Peter turned down the official Avenger position that he was offered, Tony had warned the kid that he could be called in once in a while. Neither of them probably thought it would just happen to be so soon. The kid would obviously say yes; Captain America himself asked for Spider-Man, and Peter would be grateful for an opportunity to prove himself to the rest of the team.

Unfortunately, Tony couldn’t argue against it.

They needed another fighter, and Peter knew better than anyone about what they were going up against.

As much as Tony hated bringing him into another Avengers situation, not to mention one so intertwined with the kid’s personal vigilante business, this was the best call.

Standing up, he glanced at the current team. Some of them looked annoyed at having to rely on someone outside of the Avengers, but a good chunk of the usual group was either missing or in hiding, leaving them no choice but to agree. Only Clint looked chipper, and surprisingly Natasha, both of them not even trying to contain their amusement and in the archer’s case excitement at the chance to fight alongside Spider-Man.

Mumbling about how everyone was overreacting, Tony walked away from the group, letting them know that he was about to call Spider-Man. His thumb still briefly hesitated over the call button, but before he knew it, the phone was already ringing, and a certain teenager’s voice was answering.

“Hey, what’s up? Who’s this?”

“Wow, how dare you not recognize my name Spider-boy.” Tony almost forgot to call Peter some stupid spider nickname, frowning that the kid did not check the caller I.D. first. This is worse than he thought, Peter must be busy.

“Oh my god, Mr Stark! S-sorry, what’s up?”

“Yeah well, I know your generation mostly texts, but this is quite urgent,” Tony paused before continuing, and not just for the dramatic effect. This was surprisingly more nerve-racking to say out loud than he thought, “We’ve found some more of those weapons that Toomes’s little organization was making, and the group using them is nasty, so Capsicle asked me to call in Spider-Man for back up. You in?”

Well, that was fast. Somehow the entire conversation seemed longer in his head. Now Tony held his breath waiting for the kid’s answer. Well, the one and only obvious answer that Peter would give in this situation, even if it was taking a while.

“Hello? Spidey?” Moving around as he waited Tony caught the looks of his teammates from across the room, “Steve is giving me the stink eye here – _yes, yes, you are_ – so are you in or out?”

“Sorry, yes, of course!” Tony didn’t expect any other reply.

Telling Peter to swing to the Tower and not the Compound, Tony sighed turning back around to face the others. Most of them were already scattered around the common room, putting on armour or doing last-minute check-ups on their gear. The two bird-themed heroes went downstairs to get the Quinjet ready, while Romanoff was on a call with Vision, asking whether he and Wanda were anywhere near New York. Steve stood not far from Tony, awaiting the confirmation about Spider-Man.

“I guess we’re getting another teammate today,” Tony informed him, “Spider-Man said yes. I told you he would. You know he’s a big fan of yours Cap,” He looked up in time to see Steve smile slightly.

“Yeah, I remember he said that right after he stole my shield. Quite a bold entrance to make. How far is he anyway?”

“Around Queens, so 10 minutes if he hurries.”

“And he’s definitely up for this?” Natasha suddenly spoke up from across the room, seemingly having ended her call, “No issues or questions?”

“He’s fine. Just because he isn’t telling anyone his identity doesn’t make him a criminal,” This whole mistrusting Spider-Man was getting annoying, “Plus he’s actually going to be here. What’s up with Vision and Wanda?”

“I’m not implying he’s a criminal.” The ex-spy answered, walking over, “I’m not one to question his secrecy either. He may have a perfectly good excuse to hide behind a mask. As for the other two, they’re still in Europe but will be flying over in about a week.”

At least they were finally coming back.

After Germany and the Raft, Wanda fled separate to the others, letting only Vision follow her. The pair had grown quite close, but it still surprised Tony to find out just how much. Unfortunately, they got the message about the accords being settled much later than the rest, so now the Avengers were down five members.

Thor was off-world, Bruce was still missing, and Rhodey had his military duties to attend to.

That left Steve and Sam, Clint and Nat and Peter, and with Tony, that’s seven against likely a couple dozen highly armed personnel. As much as the billionaire hates the idea of dragging a _teenager_ into Avengers business, Peter knew the most about Toomes’s weapons, and how to counter them. Despite learning all of his fighting technique from trial and error in the streets of Queens, the spider-ling could still pack one hell of a punch. Plus from his observations, it seems like no one expects Peter to shoot webs or climb walls.

 _He’ll be fine._ Tony repeated like a mantra for reassurance. Plus Clint will be looking out for him too; the archer had taken a greater liking to both Peter and Spider-Man since the incident a few weeks ago.

Glancing down at his watch, Tony saw that ten minutes were almost up. Spider-Man should be here any second now. Getting up, the billionaire maneuvered his way across the room and stood by the giant wall-sized window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the web-slinger making his way through the streets of Manhattan.

Hearing the steps of someone walking, and out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Natasha join him.

“Sam just finished prepping the jet. Aside from Spider-Man, we’re ready for take-off.” Her voice was quiet; if he didn’t know any better, she could have been talking to herself. Technically, Tony also still needed to put on an Iron Man suit, so it wasn’t as if they were only waiting on Peter.

Just as he was going to reply with some joke about waiting for people to Natasha, two thuds were heard against the glass, two strings of white material stretching down below, followed by the unmistakable silhouette of a body flying up and softly sticking to the outside of the building.

“Hey guys, could you let me in?”

When Peter had flung himself up the last couple of feet, he did not expect to jump scare Tony Stark or _the_ Black Widow.

He was only searching for an open window to scrawl into. Karen had alerted F.R.I.D.A.Y. ahead of time to not set off any alarms, but apparently, no one in this building liked to breathe proper clean air from outside, leaving him no choice but to go up the entire skyscraper.

Meanwhile, Steve had walked over and asked the Tower’s A.I. to open up a nearby window. Following a clicking noise, a small hatch opened up, leaving just enough space for Spider-Man to crawl in. By doing so, at that moment, he truly felt like a real spider. Hopping off the window, and landing smoothly near the three standing Avengers, he eagerly looked up at Tony, looking surprisingly energized despite having climbed the entire Tower.

“Never do that again Spidey,” Tony huffed out, “But at least you’re on time. C’mon, Barton and Wilson are downstairs, and I need to get a suit. Let’s go!”

Placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder, Tony led him away from the group towards the elevator. “Sorry kid, I might need to leave you alone for a few seconds,” knowing Peter’s enhanced hearing, Tony whispered extra quietly, only getting a quick nod in reply. F.R.I.D.A.Y. had already brought up the elevator, knowing exactly where to drop off Iron Man and bring the rest.

So as the doors closed behind the billionaire, Peter was left alone with four of the Avengers. More accurately, Spider-Man was left with four Avengers that may or may not slightly mistrust him. He felt his throat close up.

“So… Mr Stark said something about Toomes’s weapons and some group using them?” He tried as a conversation starter.

“Yeah, a group has been spotted using those weapons,” the Black Widow said addressing him, “We were hoping you could let us know what some of them do as well as help take them down, seeing as you were involved with the Vulture business from the start.”

“R-right, cool. Of course.” Peter stuttered out that excuse for a reply.

He was then hastily given a StarkPad, containing what seemed like video footage and images from either surveillance cameras or stakeouts. Scrolling through he recognized most of the weapons, or at least their make. Chitauri based power source combined with Earth technology. A few of them brought up great memories, getting shot at, dodging and more.

“Yeah,” he finally spoke up, “I recognize quite a few. L-like these ones,” he said, holding up the tablet to show two particular images, “Some robbers used these ones to cut through an A.T.M. with lasers and then lift it. The laser I guess would be dangerous, but the other one only lifts stuff and just feels super weird.”

Even as the elevator slowed and the group walked out, Peter kept talking and going through all the files. He made sure to mention that the Chitauri energy cores were explosive if exposed to radiation and that an electric shock will likely cause the weapons to overload and starting shooting of their own accord. He learned that the hard way.

“This guy here looks like he has some version of the Shocker’s gauntlet, and it’s surprisingly less painful than it sounds. Unless they reinforced it, it’s pretty simple to get off the guy so –”

Just as they exited the corridor and into the Quinjet hanger, Peter felt a sharp tingle in his neck. Stopping so suddenly, that someone behind him crashed into him too, his eyes scanned the room. The others slowed down around him, glancing around with confused looks as to why Spider-Man was suddenly so cautious.

After a few painfully long seconds, Peter just shook his head, leaving it to his senses freaking out over nothing again. Muttering an apology and following the others, he picked up where he left off about the gauntlet.

Unfortunately, the moment he fully stepped into the room, the tingle once again turned to a hard pinch. Letting the StarkPad drop, he let his arm snap forward on instinct, making contact with something thin and solid.

The four Avengers whipped around at the sound.

In his hand, he held an arrow.

_Clint._

At least it wasn’t a sharp arrow this time; the point was covered in soft foam, and the shaft wasn’t made of the usual durable material. It was just another one of his jokes to see if Peter could catch it, and sure the arrow was slower than usual, but this was getting more and more stressful for Peter. If he’s not paying attention, eventually something will probably hit him.

“Clint! What the _hell_?” Natasha’s voice cut through his thoughts like a dagger.

From the ceiling came a chuckle, followed by a vent opening and the archer jumping down looking entirely unapologetic.

“It’s fine, just a game,” He yelled back, “How’ve you been kid?”

“Pretty good, I guess.”

“You two know each other?” Stepped in Steve.

“Sort of.” They both answered in unison.

The soldier decided not to push any further. Whatever his opinions about Spider-Man were, Clint had a right to have different ones, or even be playing some odd game with him.

Now, despite Peter initially not wanting more Avengers knowing his identity, after a few days of pondering, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The fact that he and Clint got quite close after the archer found out only proves that it can’t all be so bad. It would be easier in the future too.

As Peter walked ahead with Clint, the duo quietly chatted about recent pranks, and the web-slinger recalled some of his patrol highlights. This week’s most dangerous crime was stopping someone attacking a child in an alleyway. Feeling worried, Peter also walked home with the kid. This mission was definitely a major step up.

Although Peter had seen the Quinjet from afar in Germany, and multiple times flying in and out of New York before his time as Spider-Man, being formally invited to board the plane was an entirely different experience. As the clank of metal boots alerted everyone to Tony’s presence, and the plane ramp lowered, revealing the Falcon already inside, everyone else began piling into the vehicle.

Inside looked sleek and professional; seats were lining the walls, and all sorts of varying medical supplies were on board. Some crates probably contained backup weapons, from what Peter could see Iron Man suit pieces and Hawkeye arrows, but he wouldn’t doubt it if every Avenger had some spare gear on board. Trying not to stare around too much, Peter nervously followed everyone else’s lead, unsure of what else to do really, and therefore ended up standing awkwardly around the middle table.

“Alright,” Steve clapped his hands for the team’s attention, “We are heading up to New Haven, 30-minute flight. Simple takedown mission, take the weapons and call the authorities. Thank you to Spider-Man for telling us some of the weapon types and their uses,” Peter blushed at being put on the spotlight so suddenly, “But be extra careful around the new ones. Look out for each other.”

He went on talking about the situation and gave Clint and Sam a StarkPad to read over Peter’s assessments of the weaponry. Tony exited his suit to input their destination coordinates and overall help F.R.I.D.A.Y. fly the plane, while the remaining Avengers went on discussing various fight tactics and retreat strategies.

The usual fear of social interaction caused a knot in Peter’s stomach throughout the entire exchange. He mostly stood near Tony, listening to where everyone was going to be located, and especially his own role. Every once in a while, Steve would look up and ask Peter about his abilities and whether or not he would be able to do certain things.

Could he climb any surface?

Would taking on more than two people be okay?

More often than not, Peter agreed, eager to impress his idols, while Tony was already re-thinking his choices in agreeing to invite the teenager. However, eventually, the plan was smoothed out, and the conversation turned to other topics.

Losing interest, Peter left Tony’s side to go talk to Hawkeye, the only other person who has genuinely met Spider-Man. As the teen sat down, the archer smiled at him, putting down the arrow he was fiddling with. “Hey, kid. Nice work identifying the weapons,”

“Thanks, it’s nothing though, wasn’t that hard. Could you hear what Captain said about positioning and stuff?” Peter teased.

“Of course!” Clint gasped as if offended, “I may need hearing aids, but I’m not completely deaf. Though, I’m more curious about you. I mean, I know you can stick to anything, and you mentioned super strength, but what else?”

Peter was slightly surprised at the question. He hadn’t really thought about his abilities too much. Some days he didn’t notice them, and other days he was sadly reminded that he _can_ , in fact, crush a calculator in his hand.

“You mean like powers?” The archer nodded.

“Ah, okay. Well, I can stick to anything I’ve tested so far, as well as enhanced strength, agility and senses, and I think durability too.”

“How did you get all that?” Peter looked up to see the Falcon listening in, “Not many people just wake up one day and can catch a bus.”

“Yeah, well, and don’t laugh, but a spider bit me.” If Peter didn’t wear a mask, he would probably be as red as the suit around him. Fortunately, they didn’t laugh, Sam chuckled sure, and Clint just tilted his head in disbelief.

“A spider? It bit you?” Great, now the Black Widow was listening to him too. Compared to most people’s backstories, Peter’s really did sound odd.

“Yup. The thing its self was a crossbreed, mutated to be stronger or something. It died pretty soon after the bite though.”

The three Avengers nodded along, thinking over their newly found information. Natasha smiled in the realization that now her nickname ‘the Black Widow’ was less appropriate than Spider-Man’s. When Tony first brought the guy in, she had assumed his powers were engineering-based; both the webs and the wall-sticking. Hearing that he was bitten by a spider and then just ran with that theme was actually amusing.

As everyone double-checked their roles and positions, the plane began to lower, and the conversations stifled. Peter felt his heart speed up, adrenaline already pumping through his veins, ready to face whatever danger they may encounter.

Tony stood and once more suited up. In fact, the whole team had risen, watching the clouds disappear and reveal the lush green field, beyond which could be seen the first buildings leading of New Haven. During the observation of the group that used the alien tech weapons, it seems like because of the Avengers returning, they were planning on moving their small operation further away from New York. Their current base, an old warehouse, was located near the docks for a more comfortable escape or trade route.

This may be the team’s last chance to catch them before they disappear completely.

“Alright then,” Captain America spoke up, “Let’s do this.”

* * *

The starting plan was simple.

Iron Man was to fly in from the east exit, while Falcon and Spider-Man came in from the larger west one, all three of them sticking to the higher levels of the building. Meanwhile, Captain America, Hawkeye and the Black Widow were to sneak in from the north. All ground exits would be surrounded, leaving no easy escape route.

While Sam silently glided his way over to the roof, Peter scaled the side of the building, carefully avoiding any windows or cracks in the old structure. So far no alerts had gone out, hopefully meaning that there were no more criminal members outside of the warehouse, but it was better to hurry up and get inside.

Spotting the gap in the roof that F.R.I.D.A.Y. found for them, Peter followed the winged Avenger inside, trying his best not to shift anything that could collapse. Over the comms, he heard the others announce their positions. The ground teams were to move in first, seeing as it is harder for them to get closer without being spotted, but for now, Falcon crouched down by the ledge, with Spider-Man standing not far behind and asking Karen to scan for traces of the weapons.

Despite the progress he could hear the other’s making, and having found most of the weapons thanks to either Karen or F.R.I.D.A.Y., the entire ordeal was moving quite slowly. The ground teams were still a while away from where most of the action was to take place. Peter definitely expected to be fighting already. Then again, this was more of a stealth mission.

After a few more stretched out minutes, even the Falcon decided to relax slightly; sitting down cross-legged instead of crouching, causing Peter to follow suit.

Picking a beam that Karen deemed sturdier than the rest, Spider-Man calmly crawled above and let himself hang upside by his web, still keeping an eye out for things but in his own way. Despite being as silent as possible, Sam still looked up to see him crawling up and shook his head in confusion as to why would he do so. The winged hero decided to leave it at merely Spider-Man being more like a spider than he previously assumed.

Overall, Sam hadn’t really paid much attention to the web-slinger. Even if they were paired together for this mission, and based off of Peter’s short interaction with the man, as Peter Parker no less, it doesn’t seem like Sam really trusts Spider-Man.

Peter would have argued to be paired with Tony, but both his social awkwardness and tactical thinking prevented him from speaking up. For now, they had to make do.

As Peter hung from the beam, listening and waiting for his chance to help, his adrenaline rush and racing mind steadily slowed. He and Sam were both seeing the same scene unfold in front of them; five levels of various containers with shaky stairs connecting each, and a centre gap from which they could people running around on the ground floor.

Clint and Natasha were in position, less than a couple hundred feet away but hidden behind some crates. Everyone was waiting for Tony’s assessment and the Captain’s confirmation.

Though usually, Peter didn’t have much patience, this time he probably could have lasted until the appropriate time to attack.

_Could have._

As Peter carefully crawled along the beam for a better place to drop from, a shiver ran down his spine followed by the roof he was stuck onto vibrating. Despite already sensing the danger, Peter had no clue where it was coming from. He kept whipping his head around in a blind panic, expecting the threat from any angle.

“Psst, Spider-Man,” The Falcon’s voice rippled through his panicking thoughts, “What’s wrong?”

Before Peter could respond, he felt his mind shriek, skull threatening to split and every instinct telling him to run. Fight or flight, and without thinking, his mind and body suddenly chose flight.

Twisting around at a speed Sam’s eyes couldn’t comprehend, Peter shot forward a web, hitting the flying Avenger square in the chest and pulled. In the same second, he jumped with all his might, sending both him and Sam hurling down inside the five-story building.

Even if at first Sam thought about strangling the web-slinger after they inevitably died, he was soon ever so grateful. Less than a couple of seconds after they began to freefall, the entire roof, including the ledge Sam was so comfortable resting on, was blown away.

Now, Peter wasn’t an idiot. Sure he just launched him and another Avenger flying towards the ground as the roof above them collapsed, but he knew for a fact that it would take them less than 3 seconds to reach the ground. Putting his life into the metaphorical hands of his spidey-sense once more, Peter shot out a second web, hoping with every fibre of his being that the new course trajectory would prevent the two of them from becoming a lovely new decoration at the bottom of the creepy old warehouse.

Feeling the force of their fall change and descent slow down, Peter almost forgot to brace for ground impact. After a painful thud and roll across the floor, the two of them finally skidded to a stop.

Everything had happened both painfully slowly and in under a minute.

The air in Peter’s lungs was sucked out, panicking settling in when he couldn’t breathe, and body protesting as he tried to move. His ears were still ringing; noises muffled together as if under a wave with only the louder high-pitched sounds of yelling and metal hitting metal coming through the water.

Next to him, Sam was also recovering, though significantly slower. Without a single warning or enhanced body, he did not handle it very well at being tossed around like that.

_“Wilson, Spider-Man, come in!”_

_“Spidey, do you copy?”_

_“Sam!”_

The comms in their ears were crackling with confused shouts; every Avenger must have heard the crash.

Which means everyone in the building must have heard it too.

Scrambling up on all fours, Sam made his way over to the hunched form of Spider-Man. The latter appeared to be in distress, covering his ears and rocking himself back and forth to calm down. Breathing heavily, the kid suddenly grabbed the bottom of his mask and pulled it up past his nose, however then quickly realized his mistake and pushed his head down while still muttering something under his breath.

Looking at him now, Sam realized that Spider-Man really is just a kid. Clint’s nickname wasn’t just a joke at being younger than everyone; the web-slinger was actually no older than a teenager. The quick half-look he got of his face confirmed it too, and also gave him a strange feeling of familiarity.

_“Sam! Do you copy? Are you safe?”_

The sound of people shouting and guns shooting could be heard over the earpiece. Seems like the fighting started on the Captain’s side, and was probably about to move closer. “We’re okay, the roof was blown away by something. Spidey here pulled us out, what’s the situation now?”

 _“Oh thank god, you’re alive,”_ Steve’s voice came through sounding both relieved and exhausted, _“We don’t know what caused the explosion, but we’ve been forced to start the attack. Are you two in any shape to fight?”_

Sam moved around his shoulders and stretched his neck. He felt good enough for a quick skirmish, no major injuries from the fall and surprisingly no deep gashes or harsh bruising. Spider-Man really did just save his life.

“Y-yeah,” Sam answered looking back at the spider-ling, who had at some point already gotten up, mask firmly back in place, “We should be good,”

Glancing back down at Sam, Peter gave him a quick thumbs up and began moving towards the sound of fighting. After a few seconds of confusion, his senses returned at full blast, only the suit’s sensory input regulations stopping the teen from wincing at the sound of bullets being fired. He could hear just enough to know precisely where everyone was.

With no time to waste, and one last look back to make sure that the Falcon was still with him, Peter turned and swung forward into the fray.

* * *

Tony would later deny that he left his post to check on Peter, but if someone were to ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. then she would tell them that ‘he had flown off without hesitation’.

Now he sure as hell wasn’t ever going to tell anyone that he did so, and luckily it seems like nobody really noticed, but it may or may not be the reason some of the group members and weapons got away.

He really hadn’t meant to keep such a close eye on the kid, but considering how it all ended in Germany, with Peter being slapped out of the sky by a 70-foot tall person, falling to the ground and nearly losing conscientiousness, not to mention in a presumably safe environment, Tony wasn’t going to take any chances.

Sure, after both Germany, and then the Vulture, Peter obviously proved himself to be strong enough to handle a couple of goons with alien technology, and yet in both cases, the kid was seriously hurt. Before the fight had even started, Tony asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to alert him of any heart rate spikes or major injuries that the kid could get. Reluctantly the A.I. agreed, showing Peter’s vitals on a tiny monitor in his vision.

So obviously the moment he saw the kid’s heartbeat spiking and then heard the massive explosion coming from that general direction, Tony abandoned all his worries about the weapons and took off flying around the building.

However, as he arrived, the Avenger and semi-Avenger were already joining the fight.

Apparently, neither of them were harmed from the blast, and therefore in no need of assistance. Unfortunately, it took Iron Man a couple of seconds to realize his mistake, by the time he flew back around, two cars were already far in the distance, and another three were just about to drive off.

Now Tony was flying the Quinjet back to New York, reluctantly listening to Steve talking about who got away and what they can do about it later. Struggling to pay attention, Tony just nodded along when he thought appropriate, the guilt that he let two groups get away still weighing heavy on his shoulders. By the time he had dealt with the remaining three, the two cars were gone, having disappeared in the city and were nearly impossible to track. Either way, Tony set F.R.I.D.A.Y. to keep a satellite lookout for any matching or suspicious vehicles.

“– We can track the others using whatever information Natasha recovered, and we still got the majority of them, so Tony can you… You’re not listening to me, are you, Tony? Tony!”

The billionaire’s head whipped around. Steve was staring at him, annoyed maybe, but mostly concerned. “Tony?”

“Yeah, yeah, just…” _Worried, guilty, frustrated_ , “Tired.” He settled on that.

“Do we know what set off the explosion?” Natasha’s voice once again bringing him back to the ground before he could even leave it.

No one spoke up.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Did you get any satellite footage?” She tried again, hoping the A.I. would at least give them a clue.

“Accessing files,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. answered, “The blast seems to have been caused by a fired weapon, coming from the upper levels of the building next to the warehouse.”

A holographic file was pulled up in front of them, showing areal footage of Spider-Man and the Falcon disappearing into the building, moments later followed by a beam of light hitting that exact area and blowing the roof to bits.

“Shit,” Everyone’s head turned to the voice. Clint stared at the video, eyes darting between it and Spider-Man, surprise and terror clearly etched on his face. A _fifteen-year-old kid_ walked away from that blast. Sure he’s enhanced, and Sam was there too, but knowing Spider-Man’s exact age made the archer dread what could have been.

“How’d you two even make it out of that unscratched?”

“Spidey scared the crap outta me,” Sam spoke up, amusement in his voice, “One second he was on the ceiling, and then we were falling, and then the roof was blown apart. Ask him yourselves.”

Even more curious, the team turned their attention to the web-slinger, who had been quietly sitting in the corner, fiddling with an empty web cartridge, only looking up when his name was mentioned and freaking out slightly to see the Avengers staring at him.

“Uh, wait, what?” As the curious team looked on, Peter stared back, confused. He was only paying attention at the start of the flight, by the time he heard Sam mention ‘spidey’ he was already rewatching Karen’s footage from the fight.

“How did you and Sam get out of that explosion?” Natasha inquired again.

“Oh, yea,” Clearing his throat and sitting up straighter Peter paused to try piece his explanation together, “So I have like this 6th sense that the spider gave me,” Seeing everyone’s faces morph into confusion Peter hurried to elaborate, “Okay, okay, so it just warns me of dangers I can’t see. You know, like punches, arrows or explosions. It freaks out over nothing sometimes too, and other times doesn’t work at all, but it’s pretty useful.”

Everyone nodded along, trying to wrap their brains around that sort of ability. Tony had previously guessed about the kid’s heightened reaction time, but before now couldn’t quite explain Peter dodging things he literally could not see.

Sighing, Clint too realized why Peter can evade anything he throws at the kid, or swings at him or drops on him either. Maybe he won’t be able to hit him with anything after all.

Meanwhile, Sam focused his memory on their fight in Germany, about how the spider-ling didn’t notice Redwing come close until it was too late. He almost considered asking Clint to join in on whatever game they were playing, to see if he could score a point.

Sometime after they get back, Tony needed to have a serious talk about the kid’s many unusual spider abilities. The need to hang upside down all the time, or sticking to stuff due to stress every once in a while, and now whatever this future-seeing other sense. Maybe go through a full test too.

What if the kid was venomous? Maybe he reacted to bug spray the way spiders would too.

As the clouds thinned, they began to descend, the jungle-like outline of New York rising up from below, and the Avengers Tower standing tall in the middle of it all. When the jet’s ramp lowered, Rhodey could be seen standing by the entrance, and judging by the suit, he probably just got back from some formal military meeting.

The team hastily piled out of the aircraft, some of them, including Peter, went to pack away the crates, while the others went ahead to change or shower for the get-together afterwards. Despite the invitation, from both Tony and Rhodey, to stay with the team, or ‘ _hang around_ ’ as Clint had put it, Peter politely declined, choosing to make his way home before Aunt May freaked out.

However, before he could crawl out the window, much to Clint’s amusement and Tony’s protests, Peter noticed Sam gesturing for him to come over. The winged Avenger stood by the Quinjet, everyone else had already said their goodbyes to Spider-Man and left, or were on the other side of the hanger out of hearing range.

“What’s up?” The teen bounced over, hoping the conversation wouldn’t take too long.

“So, um,” The winged Avenger looked unsure of himself, “I just wanted to say thanks.”

“Oh.” Not what Peter was expecting.

“Yeah, just, for you know, saving my ass back there.”

“Course.” Peter didn’t think this would be that awkward.

“Yup, so thanks. You’re okay, I guess.”

“S-sure? You’re... okay too.” More awkward.

“Yeah, well, thanks. You can run off now,”

Hesitating, Sam clapped a hand on the kid’s shoulder, feeling that a handshake would be strange, and a hug out of the question.

Nodding instead of voicing his goodbye, Peter slowly walked away, glancing back a few times and suddenly feeling quite excited. He didn’t think Sam would turn around like that, thanking and almost complimenting Spider-Man, after just one day.

Right as Peter closed the window hatch, sticking to the outside of the Tower and ready to jump down, he saw Sam jogging up to the glass.

“Hey, wait!” Opening the hatch just a little, Peter leaned in to hear what the man had to add.

“Do your webs come out of you? Cuz this stuff is still stuck on me!”

Sam was immensely relieved to know that the webs were not organic, but then instantly disappointed to hear that they would only dissolve in another half hour. At least the strings were no longer sticky, just little bits stuck onto the armour here and there.

Looking back at it, Peter was more than ever glad that he agreed to join them. Another Avenger trusted him a bit more, even if unknown to Peter, Sam was a step closer to finding Spider-Man’s identity. However, when Peter swung by the Tower on Friday, Clint had immediately dragged him away for hand-to-hand combat practice, grumbling about how the teen was in desperate need of training.

The archer also gave up on his objective of actually hitting Peter with some projectile, now he just launched whatever at the kid at the most inconvenient times. Clint barely managed to escape death by a screwdriver when Peter ducked, avoiding a thrown pen, and therefore having it hit Tony straight in the face. The two adults ran around the workshop for a good couple of minutes before the chasee managed to get out mostly unharmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once, again any feedback is welcome! (Also grammar/spelling errors).  
> The plan is that this will be a 5 + 1 type of thing, and even though classes are starting up soon, I already wrote down the overall plan.  
> I'll do my best to update as often as I can.


	3. Crawling around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision and Wanda are back, but there's someone in the Tower at night.
> 
> Peter is injured and crawls into the Tower in the dark.
> 
> Natasha is up from a nightmare and tries to piece together what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well damn, it's been a while since I actually posted.  
> I've been writing this bit by bit, but finally last week we went on a holiday, giving me plenty of time to finish this up.  
> Hopefully, it will live up to your expectations!

Although their charges were cleared, and Vision and Wanda welcomed back with open arms, the pair were asked to stay in the Avengers Tower for a few days. The government insisted on it for safety precautions, but Tony mostly insisted to make up lost time and finally redecorate their new rooms in the compound.

It was day three of their temporary arrangement. Wanda and Vision denied being a couple, though the effort was half-hearted at best, and were being swiftly caught up on various details between Germany and now. They learned of the legalities surrounding the new system, as well as the whereabouts of everyone involved; Steve's friend, the Black Panther, and their teammates. It was only Spider-Man that Stark refused to give much detail on, but given Clint's liking of the guy, Wanda knew he could be trusted. Surprisingly, it was Vision that was doubtful.

He had expressed his mistrust of the web-slinger months ago. A sub-section of the accords required all active Avengers to reveal their full name as well as any aliases. The vigilante's actions set off some alarms to Vision. If Spider-Man was fighting on Iron Man's team, surely he knew the legal side of things? There shouldn't be a need to so highly guard his identity. Only Stark knew who he really was, and the man had even fought to change that clause of the Accords.

On the bright side, they could get plenty out of Stark, and Clint and Rhodey, about a new intern, even if it all revolved around the teen being a genius. Tony was even generous enough to give him his own room in the Tower, explaining it was precautious since they both liked to stay up late. His only rule was that they were to never go into that room uninvited. Privacy and all that.

So Vision never did. He could have easily, at night when everyone was asleep, but Vision was an android of his word. Even now, he could just poke his head in. Wanda asked him many times to do so, curiosity getting the better of her, but Vision simply floated above the furniture every night, putting himself into a state of suspended animation.

He doesn't exactly remember what happens during those periods, but a disturbance can cause him to 'wake up'. It happened surprisingly more than one would think. Mostly it was Stark making noise while looking around for coffee or snacks. There were also random times when someone woke from a nightmare and bumped into him while walking, or woke him up to talk.

But there weren't that many people in the Tower this time.

Despite her past, Wanda rarely woke, and Natasha was always careful to never walk into the android. Everyone else was at the compound or attending to legal matters out of state. So when a slight racket stirred Vision to full consciousness, he already knew that something was wrong.

Rebooting his system, Vision listened in to the noise below. Something heavy had clearly fallen, causing the initial sound, but now the android could only make out a light shuffling. If he really focussed he could hear the intruder talking to someone between laboured breaths. A wince could also be heard every few seconds, and all the noises were slowly crawling away towards the bedrooms.

Gliding down low enough to see the corridors, Vision caught a glimpse of a small figure hunched over and making its way past the bedroom doors. With one hand clutching the wall, they were hunched and barely holding themselves up. Now that Vision was closer, he could even make out snippets of the conversation.

"...NO, no... ...Listen to me..."

By the words heard, it seemed like the person was arguing. Or defending themselves. It wasn't clear what they were talking about, all that Vision knew for sure was that this was an intruder. Just as the android neared within a few feet, ready to put an end to it all, their final couple of words interrupted Vision's plan.

"...look fine F.R.I.D.A.Y., I'll... ... Code: 4782..."

Whatever number pattern they mumbled seemed to have silenced the other side. No longer talking now, the person continued to make their way down the hallway, with Vision halted mid-air, and doubt forming in his mind. He assumed that the intruder had already overridden the A.I.s system, but addressing her by name, and using a code instead of some hack, caused Vision to rethink everything.

Perhaps this person was allowed to be here. Only trusted people would have unique protocols or manual overriding codes given to them.

Hoping to make sense of the situation, Vision adjusted his eye-sight. As the dark corridor brightened in his eyes, the android could fully make out the figure's form and colour. As well as the iconic spider emblem on the figure's back. If Vision needed to, he could let out a frustrated sigh, and despite not being able to have a headache, he felt the anxiety leave his body.

It was just Spider-Man.

Even if Vision was not entirely convinced of the web-slinger's loyalty, it seems Stark trusted the guy whole-heartedly. There was no need to stop the guy from staying at the Tower for a night. He did look horribly exhausted. Leaning into his left and clutching that side, almost as if...

_No, it's not as if. The suit is only red and blue._

The colours made it difficult to see, but upon closer inspection, Vision's fear was confirmed. The spiderling's torso was definitely stained with something, flowing down his left side and seeping into the suit's fabric, turning the bright shades darker.

Maybe that's why the guy didn't see Vision floating above him, or notice Vision following him either. Maybe that's why he had crashed into something and can barely hold himself up. The spider had now stopped in the hallway, shaking slightly and timing his breathing. Spider-Man was definitely injured, and yet F.R.I.D.A.Y. had not alerted anyone, meaning no one would help. Well, only if Vision didn't do anything about it.

Touching down to the ground, the android steadily approached the hunched form of Spider-Man, hoping to seem less threatening that way. "Spider-Man? Are you alright?" No response and no reaction either. "You appear to be injured, may I be of any..."

He was within arm's reach when it happened, quick and sudden without warning. As the android reached out to grasp the spiderling's shoulder, a moment away from contact, the vigilante leapt. The red and blue colours flew upwards, the body barely brushing past Vision's fingertips, and a quiet yell echoing through the dark corridor.

* * *

He should have paid more attention, he should not have stayed out this late, and he should definitely lie to Aunt May about what really happened.

Peter wasn't stabbed, he was just tired. Hence his decision to sleep over at the Avenger's Tower, because it was closer than going home. The wound will heal by sunrise, they always do.

Initially, Peter had hoped to catch more crimes by swinging home from the Tower, expanding his patrol area. Maybe he was lucky that he didn't get very far. Less than an hour out and some guy managed to stab him, so yeah, Peter will definitely lie.

However, he could deal with a worried aunt tomorrow. Right now, Spider-Man was hunched over in a corridor in the Avengers Tower, clutching his side and holding himself up with the power of sticky hands. Karen and F.R.I.D.A.Y. were finally muted with an override code, leaving him in complete silence for a few blissful minutes.

Only a few, before he abruptly realised there was someone behind him.

His senses were already going haywire. Heart beating in his head and every noise blurred into one, so the sudden appearance of a stranger's hand through the pain fog scared him half to death. So it was only natural for Peter to leapt into the air, crashing into the ceiling and holding on for dear life.

Crouching above whoever reached out for him, Peter squinted into the darkness, pain overtaking his side and exhaustion starting to sink in. He wasn't even holding himself onto the ceiling at this point, only the fear and paranoia were keeping him sticky and safe up high. Below him, the mystery person stepped back, perhaps spooked by Peter's sudden jump. Their face was familiar, magenta coloured in the dark and ever so slightly reflecting the smallest specks of light.

He couldn't think straight, maybe he was seeing stuff, but it had to be an Avenger. No one else stayed on this level. Peter knew it couldn't be Tony - too late at night and no smell of coffee. It couldn't be Captain, Falcon or Clint, they moved into the upstate compound. Maybe Natasha but the figure seemed male, so -

"Please, I mean no harm." Definitely a male. He's heard that voice somewhere before, within the last couple of months.

"You appear injured Spider-Man, may I help?"

Peter's chest felt tight, no sound leaving his lips even as he tried to muster up some sentence. He wanted to ask them who they were, yell out in pain from the sudden anguish in his side, but in the end, all he managed to whisper was a hoarse "Help."

He felt his body slip down, fingers and toes letting go one by one and finally the motion of falling. Like being pulled under a wave, Peter didn't remember hitting the floor or even being lifted up afterwards. He could only remember resurfacing in someone's arms, the lack of a rocking motion confusing him, despite definitely being carried somewhere.

Carefully glancing around as to not worsen the pain, he caught the face of his semi-attacker semi-rescuer.

Of course.

No, _of course._

How could Peter forget? Clint even monologued about it last time they talked. Vision and the Scarlett Witch were finally coming home. He recognised the android's voice from the airport battle, and obviously, Peter didn't hear any footsteps or heartbeat because there couldn't be any.

"T-thanks, umm... Vision?" Despite his voice being barely audible, Vision turned his head down, nodding softly to show he heard.

They continued making their way through the Tower in silence. Surprisingly there was little tension in the air; no mistrust or resentment, just a robot carrying a-vigilante-he-didn't-know-is-actually-a-teenager towards the medical bay, or so Peter had to assume.

Focusing on holding his injured side, he only caught small glimpses of the pathway on which Vision took him. The elevator there, a familiar room here. He had been to the med-bay several times ever since Germany; before that, he would be doing this alone at night, silently as to not wake Aunt May.

Well, he was about to do the same thing, but in his room in the Avengers Tower. It's arguably a much more difficult task; from Karen bugging him all the way from the edges of Manhattan to Peter having to use a manual override code to silence both her and F.R.I.D.A.Y. and god forbid if Stark ever found out. Hopefully, the android won't tell if asked not to.

Slowly, the corridor began to lighten, and then without warning, the lights shone out in full force. Peter jerked from the sudden onslaught to his eyes, even the mask's lenses not shielding his overly heightened senses.

"Sorry," Vision must have noticed his sudden discomfort, "I thought the light would help. F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

The A.I. obeyed silently, either because of the code or plain stubbornness, leaving the room dimmed, but enough for the duo to maneuver their way around the med-bay.

Although his side throbbed at any major movement, Peter was grateful to be laid down on something soft. The android disappeared from his line of sight, hopefully not going to get someone else, but instead getting bandages or whatnot. Since Peter was still alive after half-swinging half-limping five blocks across Manhattan, he probably won't need stitches. That and he heals too fast for them to be useful anyway.

"I must warn you, I'm not a licensed doctor, but I do have access to the internet and know extensively about the subject."

For the second time that night, Peter almost leapt up from his position at the sudden appearance of an android. Vision had walked back in with several items, some of which he was already laying out on a table. Continuing with that task, he looked up in expectation; despite their first meeting and Vision's initial mistrust, for now, all the android wanted was to help his patient.

* * *

_You're made of marble._

_You never fail._

_Take your place in the world._

_I have no place in the world._

The memories lingered even after waking up, a subtle reminder of her past, never entirely leaving her. Some nights her sleep was peaceful, nothing but blissful darkness, others ended up being the distant memories of her childhood. Maybe every once in a while, Natasha could dream she was an Avenger.

_I'd like to wipe it out._

_Can you? Can you wipe out that much red?_

While Natasha wasn't one to admit it, she was still considerably uncertain about how her past connects to the present and future. With everything she's done, with everything that has been revealed to the public, could she really become some sort of hero? At times Natasha was even envious of how easy the others had it. Steve became America's Golden Boy, and the public has adored Stark for years.

It's not right to think that they've had it easy, it's clearly been tough on them too, but sometimes, on nights like this, Natasha wished she could have had a past like theirs.

As she wandered the dark halls of the Tower, such thoughts kept taking hold of her. The wistful yearning, that maybe if she believed it hard enough, she could be more than just the Black Widow that they made her into. Natasha knew she wouldn't fall asleep even if she tried, instead choosing to make her way towards the common room, anxiously glancing around into the dark shadows behind.

The corridor stretched on and on, the many guestroom doors lining the walls, generally the older the resident the further down the hall their room ended up being. The original Avengers were all the way at the end, followed by newer members like the Falcon or Wanda. These were really only there in case the Avengers decided to stay in the city, rather than head upstate.

Natasha was actually surprised to have found her own room untouched, literally; it seemed like no one had even opened the door. Not that she really expected Tony to burn down the rooms or anything, but maybe a temper tantrum and a few things thrown around. Perhaps it hurt Tony to open the doors.

Some changes were inevitable, of course.

A few rooms non-Rogue Avenger rooms were remodelled, notably a new bedroom for some 'intern'. As a matter of fact, that door was just on her left now. Curiosity dug at Natasha to see what was inside, but she knew Tony would find out, and the last thing the team needed right now was more mistrust. Steve has apparently met the intern, so maybe if she asks politely, she could too.

No need to go breaking in anywhere.

 **Red.** Natasha stopped abruptly, a disturbing detail catching her eye. Just a few steps away from the corridor's end, a smudge on the wall, barely noticeable if she wasn't continuously glancing around, still paranoid after a nightmare. Lucky or not that she did notice it, was yet to be determined, but it's unlikely that such a mark could mean anything good.

Pushing her previous anxiety down, Natasha crept forward, as silently as she was trained to do. More smudges continued down the hallway, getting more solid in colour, but stopping suddenly after the fifth. When the corridor around her finally opened to the common room, the spy could physically feel that something was off. Namely, the strange absence of a particular flying robot.

Of course, Vision could have just wandered off this night, choosing not to 'fall asleep', but something told Natasha this wasn't the case. Something else happened. Maybe even someone else intervened.

 **Chairs.** Natasha had reached the kitchen counters, nearly tripping in the dark over the high chairs on the floor. Picking them up, she noticed more red on them. Dried, and fading to a brown. _Blood._

Couldn't be Vision, and Wanda was asleep. Only Tony was...

The Black Widow spun around as soon as the thought crossed her mind. There was only one thing possible to have happened. The spy marched away in anger, already planning a long and discursive essay that would put Captain America's motivational speeches to shame.

If an intruder tried entering the building, F.R.I.D.A.Y. would alert someone, and if the A.I. sensed an attack on her system, she would make a last-second effort to wake up Tony. Wanda was definitely in her room, and Vision physically could not bleed. Steve and Co were upstate, so by process of elimination, the blood was Tony's. However, since it couldn't have been an attack, Tony must have injured himself. Leave it to the inventor to have gotten badly hurt and try to hide his injury from everyone.

It may have taken time, but Tony was less secretive about his pain in recent years. They should be way past this. Sure the team was pretty broken at the moment, but to hide an injury this bad was too much. Whatever the actual wound was, all signs pointed to Tony getting hurt, stumbling in the kitchen, touching his wound and then smudging it in the corridor when he tried to hold himself up. Natasha could only hope the blood was an accident and not anything else.

The pathway twisted and turned, down a level, and past a passcode-protected door, Natasha was almost at her destination. By now, the spy had thought of every possible lecture on basic self-care and asking for help. On how she would still help Tony, and how, despite her choice in Germany, she didn't hate him. She did not, no, and... she was sorry.

Deep in thought, oblivious to the world around, Natasha did not notice a figure appear in front of her until she was walking through synthetic vibranium. Jumping back, Natasha looked up in surprise. The sense of the android's body phasing away from hers left an odd chill on her skin, causing a shiver from the unnatural feeling.

"Miss Romanoff?" Natasha finally made eye contact with the android, "I apologise for not seeing you earlier. What are you doing up so late?"

Vision's sudden appearance thew Natasha off a little, but with a shake of her head, she was back in business. "Where's Stark?"

Despite his limited facial expressions, Natasha was pretty sure Vision looked surprised. He glanced back and forth between her and the med-bay door with an unsure look before finally turning back to the spy in front of him. "Mr Stark is asleep upstairs."

The Black Widow tilted her head in disbelief. "Come again?"

"Tony Stark is upstairs, finally asleep after two days."

"But he's...?" Well, this didn't make any sense, Natasha thought she considered every angle. Even if Hill or Fury came over, they wouldn't go to this medical bay, more likely heading to the one on the lower floors of the Tower. "I assure you, Mr Stark is perfectly fine," The android's voice snapped Natasha back to the present, "Please, it's all right. If could just follow me this way -"

"No, cut the crap, Vision." He was alarmed to suddenly hear Natasha's interrogation voice. Vision may not have the ability to really 'feel' fear, nor should he have a reason to be scared of his teammate, but the Black Widow was quite intimidating when she wanted to be. Additionally, she knew that something was up.

"Natasha, please it's really nothing..."

"And you're a terrible liar. What's going on?" He really had nothing to counter with. It was true, after all some parts that build up 'Vision' were not created with the intent to lie. He still had much to learn, but right now, the android will likely not get past the Black Widow. Then again, she was a spy, maybe she could keep a secret.

"Alright, I will explain," Natasha's face softened, "But, please, follow me. I have an errand to run first."

 _He'll talk,_ Natasha thought as she followed the android all the way back from where she had just come from. Up a level, through the dark corridors and finally back into the common room. The spy paused near the doorway, standing quietly as Vision walked further in towards the kitchen. She watched patiently as the android began rummaging through the cabinets, picking through all shelves, before finally pulling something out with a sound of approval.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you please help?"

"Are you going to talk?" Natasha quipped back as she walked over. Upon seeing a cleaning rag in the android's stretched-out hand, Natasha was pretty sure she knew what he was doing. When Vision then went to tall kitchen chairs and began wiping them down, she was a hundred per cent confident in his intentions; he was covering up the injury.

"You are correct in thinking that someone is injured," At least she wasn't going crazy, "But it is not Tony Stark, it's Spider-Man."

_Oh. What? He's allowed in the Tower at night?_

"So this is his blood?" Did the guy sneak in, bleed out everywhere and then Vision took him to the med-bay when he collapsed? Sounds like something Tony would do, maybe the spider needs a new mentor.

"Yes, I found him walking down towards the bedrooms. He then jumped on the ceiling before losing his grip. I patched him up in one of the medical rooms."

"Jumped on the ceiling... Of course, he did." Either it's Tony's terrible mentoring or the spider guy's first impulse. To be fair, he did climb the entire Avengers Tower instead of taking the elevator. He also climbed the whole Washington Monument, and Natasha remembers hearing that he survived a plane crash a few months ago.

"I guess even he has his limits. What happened?"

Vision had begun moving towards the corridors, making Natasha follow suit. The stains went past two bedroom doors, stopping just before the intern's. It must have been where Vision found him.

"Stab wounds. I do not know how it happened, just that he was on the outskirts of Manhattan when it did."

Natasha froze. Outskirts of Manhattan. _Five kilometres or three miles_ give or take, with an injury that caused him to _faint_ in the end. Not to mention the guy must have swung using his webs, increasing the risk of further opening the wound.

With her mind made up, Natasha turned back around, making her way to the med-bay for the second time that night. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Miss Romanoff, wait, he asked to keep this quiet! Natasha, wait!"

The Black Widow ignored his pleas, waving at the android as she strutted away. Maybe those lectures she thought up for Tony could still be useful. As well as lecturing the guy on team bonding and asking for help, she might as well get his full backstory, see how the second spider compares to the first.

The dim lights of the medical room barely gave her enough light to find the door handle, let alone easily walk across the room towards the only occupied bed.

Natasha didn't know what to expect. A body covered from head to toe in blood, or just a guy with a few bandaids. She certainly did not expect someone so small.

They had met before, but the happy attitude and cheesy one-liners made up for the small figure. Now Spider-Man lay curled up on his side, breathing slowly and with his mask lenses closed. Stark was right in saying 'kid', he might not actually be underage, but he was definitely on the younger side.

With no one to lecture and nothing really to do, Natasha took a seat across the room. Multiple opened pain killers were on the table. _He must have a fast metabolism_. A few white clumps lay on the floor; upon closer inspection, it looked like those 'webs' Spider-Man used. _He must have patched himself up before coming over, smart._ He also tried heading to a bedroom before getting carried here. Which seems... odd.

Spider-Man is obviously allowed in the Tower, but Tony did not give him a room. If F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn't alert Stark to the injury, then he either doesn't care about the web-slinger, which based on their interaction seemed unlikely, or the spider had an override code. So they were close, but weirdly not close enough for there to be a room in the Tower.

Unless. _No._

Did Stark seriously... bring a _child_ to Germany?

The goddam intern.

Natasha thought it was out of character for Tony to take an interest in a random kid. She even considered the 'intern' being some lost child of Stark, but for that kid to actually be Spider-Man made sense. It connected the dots at least. Plus Clint took a great liking to both Spider-Man and the kid, but she thought the second part was because of his own children.

_Peter, wasn't it?_

He was secretive about his identity, which made sense if he was a minor. With a bit of research, Natasha found out about the intern's family. The long history of loss. She shouldn't interfere. Natasha could train Spider-Man, help him when he's down, but she should leave Peter Parker alone. For his own safety.

Two spiders, both with a childhood of loss and fighting. Although it seemed like the kid was already doing better than she was. He was going out before Stark found him, stopping assaults and robberies in the streets of Queens. But at the end of the day, he was just a teenager.

It's not fair that he has to worry about stab wounds and alien tech when he should be studying for exams and hanging out with friends. He's got a good heart as he chose to make people's lives just a little bit better.

Natasha was about to get up and leave, go help Vision clean up or hide this from Stark when Peter suddenly stirred. His breathing hastened, head jerking slightly. As he turned onto his back, the lenses in the mask flew open, and body trembled slightly. For a few stretched out seconds, neither of them said a word.

Breaking the silence, Spider-Man let out a deep breath, relaxing into the bed again, still oblivious to Natasha's presence. She didn't know what to say. It was a nightmare, obviously, but would Natasha being here help him or shock him? One way to find out.

"Do you know what spider is in Russian?"

The injured spider nearly jumped out of his bed, scrambling into an upright position and taking in the view of the Black Widow sitting opposite him.

"'Паук'. Or rather 'паучок' in your case."

It seemed like an eternity for Peter as he tried to answer. Many thoughts were running through his mind. _Why was she here? Did she know?_ But more importantly, _Will she tell Mr Stark?_

"I - Um, why are you, you... You're the Black Widow." And he's talking to her, by himself.

"Sorry to scare you, I caught Vision as he left the room."

"He told you?" That damn robot.

"No. He's just terrible at lying." With a frustrated sigh, Peter fell back into the bed, regretting his decision instantly when his torso burned up. Glad to still have his mask, he openly winced at the pain, taking controlled breaths to calm down.

"Still hurts, huh?" Right, Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, was still sitting across the room.

"Yeah, you could say that." It sucked to seem so beaten in front of her.

"What happened?" So she wanted to know. Perfect. Peter couldn't lie to the Black Widow, that's just asking for death. "Will you tell Mr Stark?"

Natasha almost laughed. Both as Spider-Man and Peter, he called Tony that. A bit too obvious, but then again, not many people have caught on so far.

"No, your secret is safe." _Both of them._

At first, Spider-Man was silent, as if thinking over her promise, or considering how much he should say.

"Some mugging," He spoke up, "A gang or something, picking on some teens. It was pretty late, I guess I just... I didn't see the guy pull out a pocket knife."

Natasha nodded along, picturing the scene.

"He came up from behind and... well, you know. I probably shouldn't have stayed out so late, because of sch - _sleep_. And sleep is important." Close, too close. Peter was quite tired but still caught himself just in time. Hopefully.

So he thought anyway. Natasha was about to facepalm. No wonder Stark found him so quickly, this kid can barely keep up with a conversation without making it suspicious. That makes at least one thing Peter and Vision share; neither of them can nor want to lie to Natasha.

"What about that '6th sense' you mentioned last time?" She inquired.

"Ah, I guess it didn't work. Happens sometimes."

"Not a very useful ability if it turns off without warning."

Peter smiled at that. "Yeah, true. I've tried to pinpoint when it happens, but so far not much -"

Spider-Man's sentence broke off with a yawn. Natasha forgot it was so late. Plus, unlike her Peter has been up all night fighting.

"Get some sleep. You need to heal properly -"

"I don't think - I can't." He cut her off before she could even stand up.

"Sorry, it's just..." The spy caught his hand curl up the sheets, "Just I don't think I'll fall asleep. Not today."

Right, the nightmare. This kid was already so messed up. Was it from the airplane? Or worse, Germany? That would make it the Avenger's fault.

"I get nightmares too." Spider-Man's head titled up as though surprised, not that Natasha could see his expression.

"It's... mostly about my past." She continued, though still unsure if it will help the kid or not, "Things that I've seen... and done. It still follows me around, sometimes." Why was she telling him this?

"I - I'm sorry to hear."

The room felt uncomfortable, the walls were either too close or too far. Neither spider was looking up, sitting quietly and waiting for the other to answer.

"I know this might not help, but the nightmares don't go away easily. It'll take time for them to become rare, but... you should talk to someone."

"Not many people know about this," Peter answered gesturing around, "And I don't want to worry those that do."

"You don't need to be alone, though. Any time you want to talk, I'll try to make time." Maybe Natasha should set him up with Sam, an actual therapist plus superhero.

"But no more big injuries and hiding them from everyone." She added on with much more intensity in her voice. "Got that?"

Spider-Man looked up, nodding quickly to show he definitely got it. He should probably also not stay up so late, therefore never getting injured and never having to make his way to the Avengers Tower instead of home.

"You don't have to sleep, but rest up." Another nod from Peter.

The next few minutes were followed by silence. The quiet was only broken by the tapping of Natasha's nails against her phone, or Peter whispering to Karen to go over recent footage. He'd gotten into the habit of rewatching his fights, plus he could relive that warehouse mission and meeting his idols. It was strange to see everything happen again from the same point of view, but it also let him see details he previously missed.

_"Psst, Spider-Man. What's wrong?"_

Then the leap. Even with Tony's high-quality cameras, the motion was practically one smooth smudge. Once they fell, the fight had begun. Parts were blurred, others crystal clear. If Peter weren't, well, _Peter_ , he would probably get motion sick from all the movement.

Skipping over most of the fight, as to not rile up his anxiety again, he watched the calmer moments. Explaining his powers to the Avengers. Packing up the alien weapons. Captain America recounting all nine containers...

"Wait, there are only nine containers of weapons," Peter muttered aloud to himself.

"What?" Oh yeah, he wasn't alone in the room.

"Um, I'm rewatching..." _Me excitingly freaking out over meeting the Avengers_ , "...The warehouse fight. Karen picked up eleven containers of weapons. We put away only nine."

"Oh." Should she be telling him this? Especially after a rough night and a nightmare? Only if Natasha wanted him to think she doesn't know who he is, especially how old he really is.

"Two groups got away. Two cars, probably a container each. We don't know where they went."

Peter hummed to himself. Seems like they sort of failed in their mission. So much for Peter's help in identifying the weapons.

"Don't beat yourself up. Nothing could've been done. If Tony went after them, more would have gotten away."

Can she read minds too? If only he could move on so easily. Those were Toomes's weapons, and Spider-Man took him down, he has a responsibility to find those weapons.

"You guys are looking for them though, right?" He cringed internally at how his voice went up an octave.

"Of course," Putting her phone away Natasha stood up, "But you heal up first. Remember what I said about asking for help."

Not waiting for a response, Natasha turned around, and with a stifled yawn walked over to the exit. Glancing back, she watched Spider-Man fiddle with his web devices for a moment, before stepping out the doorway.

Walking back to her level, she saw Vision washing out the cloth, and noticed the lack of red stains around the corridor. All bases were covered. Before heading to her room, however, Natasha stopped in from of the 'intern's' bedroom. Or Spider-Man's as she now suspected.

"Маленький паучок. Ты немного глупый, конечно, но добрый."

_Little spider. You're a bit dumb of course, but kind._

In the morning, Peter snuck out the Tower before anyone had even woken up. Even with minimal sleep, his wounds were mostly healed. Thank whatever spider bit him; otherwise, he would have long ago ended up in the E.R. with his identity revealed. Either that or dead in some alleyway.

Fortunately, last night, he sent a text to May about his little sleepover, so when he crawled into his room that morning, there were already a select number of snacks waiting for him.

Munching on an apple, Peter thought over the night before. He talked to the Black Widow. Without some Avengers mission or Mr Stark's help. Actually, it's more accurate to say she spoke to him, he was just asleep after all those painkillers, that didn't help much in the end when Natasha walked in.

He pondered what she told him. About nightmares, talking to someone. She also called him 'spider' but in Russian. Pauk. Pa - oo - k. Or something like that. The weapons too. On the bright side, it could mean he will be invited onto another mission, and hopefully, the Black Widow likes him a bit more now.

It was hard to tell, even based on their next interaction. Once again, Clint had dragged Peter away from science to go train, but this time Natasha was there too. Peter couldn't quite go full strength against one assassin, but with Natasha not knowing who he really is, or so he thought, he especially couldn't go full force this round.

Peter would later blame it on that fact. The spy-assassin-duo ended up kicking his butt. Thrice. Unknown to all three, however, Tony had strode over to observe. They only saw him hastily walking away from that level afterwards, with a notepad and pen in hand.

In the end, Peter was only a little bit disappointed. Despite the pattern of cool things happening when he jumps on the ceiling, he still has not met the famous Scarlett Witch; and barely 'met' Vision. Next time he's at the compound, maybe they could even train together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, those weapons are sure still out there.  
> Would be a shame if something happened because of them later on.


	4. Trust in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another mission! Too bad things always go sideways for Peter.
> 
> Meanwhile, Steve may not trust Spider-Man as much as he let on.

_Another mission. Another mission. Again. With the Avengers!_

Like a mantra, the words kept repeating in Peter's head as he swung upstate. On the warehouse mission, his presence was a last-minute decision by the Captain, but this time it was planned. This time he was invited early on and asked to come upstate the night before, seeing as they had an early morning departure. 

Now, although the excitement was overwhelming, the uncertainty and even slight anxiety were still present. The Avengers invited 'Spider-Man', so Peter would have to turn up as Spider-Man, stay as Spider-Man and then leave after the mission, once again, as Spider-Man. Some would have advised Peter to join the team in the morning, as it would be safer for the whole secret identity thing, but refusing just seemed impolite. Not to mention he wanted this so badly.

And so, that is how Peter found himself clad in Spider-Man spandex, rushing up the steps of the Compound with the most adult backpack he could find. That is the biggest backpack he could borrow from May.

"Good evening, Spider-Man." F.R.I.D.A.Y. greeted him upon entering the building, "Would you like me to tell the others that you have arrived?"

"Uh..." Not expecting the question, Peter probably answered too quickly, "No. Wait, umm, no, I guess not. It's fine. I'll just head to the lounge and uh, then to my- then find a guest room."

"Very well. If you continue down this hallway and turn left at the second corner, you will find the lounge area."

Although the instructions were unnecessary to Peter Parker, Spider-Man shouldn't have been at the Compound long enough to memorise the layout. Peter found it quite amusing how differently F.R.I.D.A.Y. treated Spider-Man and Peter, something that showcased just how advanced she was with her programming.

Walking through the halls, Peter neared the more home-like areas of the Compound, surprised to see how much had changed since the Avengers moved back in. There were more paintings on the walls, cabinets with small items on top and other traces of life. In a way, everything seemed cosier, that the building was full of people and not just one or two occasional workers.

With so much more life in the building, Peter wasn't too surprised to hear a faint heartbeat from the lounge room. He was just slightly annoyed that he's now forced to make small talk of sorts. It was also a roll of the dice on who that person was. And so, not pausing at the door to wonder, Spider-Man found himself standing face to face with the Black Widow. Again.

"Well, if it isn't the little Spider. How are you doing паучок?" Natasha asked, referring to him by the nickname she gave him ever since the first time that they met. Pauchok - a little spider. "Is that wound from a few days ago already healed?"

"Hey, yeah, of course. It was healed by the morning." And that was already five days ago, Peter hadn't had a severe injury since homecoming. Those gashes and bruises stayed around for weeks.

"Another trick the spider gave you?"

"Yeah," Peter chuckled, "Heals most things over-night." 

"I'd give a lot to be able to recover from a stab wound in one night. Too bad that spider died." Romanoff smiled to herself at that, "I'm assuming you're good for a few rounds of training then?"

"Oh, well..." Peter thought his evening would go very differently. He didn't mind, but the question just jumped out so suddenly. "Uh, s-sure, it's just quite late, I didn't think, or expect that-"

"Don't worry, I was going to go practice regardless. Keeps me calm. It'll be nice to have a sparring partner. And to see how good you are."

"Ah, sweet. Cool. Cool, cool, cool." Well, she actually knew exactly how good 'Spider-Man' was, but it's not like Peter knew that. To him, it was just an opportunity to use all his tricks and abilities against the best hand to hand combatant in the Avengers. "Can I change first, though? Don't want to sweat in this thing more than I have to." 

"Sure, down that hallway, first door on your left. There's a bunch of spare workout gear. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will tell you how to get to the training rooms." With that, Natasha spun around and walked out, not leaving much room for discussion.

 _That. Was. Insane._ The Black Widow, Natalia Romanoff, remembers their interaction. Plus, now Spider-Man was invited to spar with her, right before another Avenger's mission. Sometimes Peter wondered how his life had come to this.

Peter kept pondering over that as he 'found' the communal closet, and picked out the size he already knew he'd fit into, and of course, kept the mask on. F.R.I.D.A.Y. tried to instruct him on where to go, although Peter barely listened and just walked the route he knew anyway. 

In fact, he ended up walking the 'scenic route', a much longer pathway. The first few private storage rooms and offices began appearing as the corridor went on, and soon it will turn left towards the Avenger's official bedrooms. Peter had a place there too, although he won't be able to use it tonight.

Going past the long wall of artworks and the small courtyard, the path Peter chose went near the training centre, but not quite towards it. Before it turned away towards the bedrooms, however, there was one last staircase. Unfortunately, that staircase was currently a hole in the ground, rubble and some red tape. Something about a weapon misfire, or some archer annoying the team too much. The conclusion of that was the destruction of the entire staircase. Peter decided not to challenge fate and asked no further questions.

That incident, while inconvenient for most, was not a problem for Spider-Man. A short-cut over the balcony, and a quick walk down the walls, avoiding the need for stairs altogether. 

Once the remains of the staircase neared, Peter walked a bit closer to the balcony, preparing to jump off the edge. With a glance around, he turned his back to the balcony, jumped up slightly to place his hands on the rail, leaned back and simply tumbled off backwards.

The momentum of the movement would've sent his head flying straight into the platform's edge, but as soon as gravity took hold of him, Peter let go, free-falling for less than a second. Using the power of sticky hands, he caught himself on the edge, the same momentum helping him end up in a crouched position on the ceiling. Or rather, the bottom of the balcony.

"I would recommend you to not climb the walls, Spider-Man." F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s digital voice interrupted Peter's movement, just as the spider-ling had begun to crawl. "Mr Stark has also advised against it, as it has led to several awkward situations."

Peter stopped in his tracks the moment F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke up and now sat on the ceiling not sure whether to climb back up or jump down. Getting up means he'll need to take the really long way around, which means he'll be late for the training and may get his ass kicked. Several times. Again. Then again, jumping down in this part of the building was the same as jumping down a two-story building.

Things, however, could not turn out normal for Peter Parker, because why would things be easy? Before he could even begin moving again, the sound of opening doors and distant voices caught his attention. He felt the vibration of footsteps on the platform that he hung onto and knew that two people were walking above him. As the footsteps neared, so did two very familiar and exasperated voices.

For whatever reason, Peter froze on the spot and listened.

"Nah, they'll only be allowed to join missions after the 23rd next month." _Was that the Falcon?_

"Right, so they're stuck at the Tower till then?" _Oh no, the Captain too._ Frankly, Peter's relationship with the team's Captain hasn't improved at all. If Rogers catches Spider-Man crawling on the walls of the Compound, it would surely crush any rising trust.

"It's not like their time at the Tower has been uneventful," Wilson replied, just as he and Rogers turned the corner. "Catching up with everyone, and getting to know new allies..."

"You mean Spider-Man?" _Shit._ That tone was not friendly. Now Peter was definitely not going to move anywhere, opting to press himself flat against the ceiling and not make a noise.

"Okay, the ant guy too, but," One pair of footsteps suddenly stopped, the others quickly following suit, "Steve, seriously, what's up with you and Spider-Man? He just showed up at the Tower, _injured_ and looking for help."

"I'm not- I just, you know..." Based on their shadows, Peter assumed Steve was now looking at the floor, "Look, Lang had his reasons. You contacted him, and he came to fight. His title 'Ant-Man' was previously carried by Hank Pym himself! But, the Spider guy? He shows up out of nowhere, gets a Stark suit, which I still don't quite agree with, and then just decides to fight in Germany! C'mon Sam, isn't it a little bit sketchy?"

A stretched out silence followed. The two heroes above were utterly still, staying so quiet that any breath the spider-ling took seemed to echo around the hallway.

"Steve," The silence is finally broken, "Honestly, did anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?"

To Peter's surprise, the Captain laughed at the remark. Their footsteps began again, as did the conversation.

"Spider-Man can handle himself, even I'll agree with that," Rogers continued, "But I wouldn't be as paranoid if the guy picked better battles. Hanging around the streets of New York, at night, just seems... odd, compared to military or Avenger's business."

"Yeah, but-"

" _And_ the only reason I called in Spider-Man for the warehouse mission was because of Clint's nagging. I know it's probably nothing, Nat's changed her mind about him too, but I just don't like it. Something feels off about the guy."

Well, that was certainly not a very nice thing to discover while clinging to the roof a couple feet up in the air. Tony has really made it sound like the Captain called in Spider-Man, but it seems like it was just out of courtesy rather than actual want.

"I get your concerns, I had them too, remember? But then I had a change of heart, you know." At least Wilson was standing up for him.

"At the warehouse mission?" Their shadows grew long as the pair walked further away. However, with his hearing, Peter knew he'd be able to eavesdrop on the conversation for a while longer.

"I mean the guy did save my life and don't freak out, but..." Sam paused for a deep breath, "I- I actually think the 'guy' is _actually_ just a kid. Stark's not joking when he calls him that."

Steve didn't stop walking. Not at first. He then quickly did a double-take as if he just processed what Sam had said. Sam, in turn, kept going about how Spider-Man being a kid would make sense; secret identity, just showing up in Germany without much understanding and so on.

"No, you're joking." Interrupting, Steve kept walking again, "Stark wouldn't bring a _child_ to Germany."

"I'm not saying a baby, I just mean young. Maybe younger than Wanda but clearly old enough to-"

"Sam... I really can't believe that."

"Look, I saw part of his face, I'm just saying that was not an adult's chin." _Okay, Peter, make sure you keep your mask on even when freaking out._ Peter thought to himself, _And hey! That was rude Mr Bird-Man, not all of us have early glow ups._

"It explains somethings, sure, but," Unknown to Peter, Steve was shaking his head. "That also means Tony willingly brought in some random teenager to Germany and instantly I dropped 10 tons on him. And he caught it! I just don't believe Stark would do something like that, not to mention then offer the same kid an official Avenger's position."

"Okay, you've got a point there..."

Their conversation began to fade away, and soon the pair were far enough for Peter to let out a breath of relief. Or partial relief, he wasn't sure how he felt about that interaction.

On the one hand, the Falcon trusts Spider-Man more than ever, so that's about six Avengers that he's on friendly terms with. On the other, it seems like Captain America would rather Spider-Man reveal his identity, but also be some 20 plus adult.

Seems like it was a loss-loss for both Peter and Cap then.

Finally touching down on the floor, the spider-ling started walking to the training rooms, although his previous motivation was gone. If last time he was invited because of Clint's nagging, then what about this time? Are they just inviting him because they need man-power and he's close by?

Peter knows Tony won't stop him anymore, not after homecoming, but the man is cautious about these types of things. Rhodes was hesitant at first, still often is, but it's not like War Machine will be there tomorrow. Clint probably doesn't mind Spider-Man coming, even if Peter is 'just a kid'. Which surprised Peter, especially after he learned that Clint had children of his own. The man played it off as 'you're clearly just a stronger younger Cap' and has been more inclined to help Peter get better at the skills aspect of fighting. 

He should've stayed on the ground.

* * *

"You're not paying attention, are you?"

Peter barely managed to dodge the fist that was thrown his way, startled by the question. Jumping away, he landed just out of reach from the Black Widow.

"W-What?"

"You're not paying attention." She repeated, softer this time, "You're distracted, or something's on your mind."

"How can you tell? You can't even see my face." The spider-ling quipped back.

"Let's say it's a hunch." The spy answered, relaxing from her fighting stance and casually walking closer.

"Yeah, okay, sure. You got me. Whatever" Peter sighed, plopping down into a crossed legs position. Natasha settled down next to him but stayed silent, and so Peter kept talking.

"So, I was walking here, and I accidentally overheard Falcon and Cap talking. It's not really... like, I already knew their thoughts on me, but it's just that-"

"Let me guess," Natasha interrupted, "Rogers was a pain in the ass?"

Peter was a bit taken back by her bluntness. After all, Natasha was good friends with the Captain. It was already weird enough that so many members on the Captain's side were friendly with Spider-Man.

"Uh, sure, that's one way to put it."

"It's fine." Natasha paused, thinking of a way to phrase her next statement, "Steve's paranoid. A lot of people actually are. Did you know Tony and Steve haven't spoken outside of Avenger's business? Some people haven't even been in the same room yet."

Peter nodded along, aware of some people's strained relations. Spider-Man is yet to properly meet a few people, and he hasn't heard anything about Ant-Man or the cat guy since the airport. Considering he's only a teenager, he couldn't exactly get into contact with those people anyway.

"So you know, it can take time," Natasha continued, "Don't take this personally, but maybe it's your secret that ticks Steve off. That was the whole reason behind a fallout between everyone in the first place; lies and secrets." She sighed, clearly remembering something. "But hey, I don't know if it matters to you, but... _I_ think you're pretty good, and it's fine to keep some things personal."

Peter smiled at that, finally lifting his head to look at the spy sitting next to him. It does matter, it really does. Despite the secret-identity criticism, her saying he's pretty good makes her friendliness much more believable.

"I'm smiling by the way," He added on, "Just so you know, cuz, like the mask and everything..."

Natasha nodded, cracking a smile too. Both of them had already relaxed from the previous exercise and were not particularly keen on moving again so quickly. They just sat in silence, two spiders, or one and a half Avengers.

Everyone who knows about Peter's secret trusts Spider-Man. A few who don't know still somehow trust Spider-Man, and then there are the few odd apples that don't know anything about him and aren't particularly keen on learning to trust him. It was honestly all quite frustra-

He didn't react. According to his spidey-sense, there was no need. He saw a smooth movement but didn't even think that he would need to dodge. Not that there was any impact anyway, the clenched fist stopped right next to his head. A beat of silence passed between the two before Peter was snapped back to reality.

"What the F*CK?" He exclaimed, jumping away from the hand.

"What?" Natasha didn't seem sorry at all. Then again, she didn't actually hit him, and continued speaking nonchalantly, "Testing out your spidey-sense."

"What?" Now it was Peter's turn to ask that, tilting his head to the side to show his confusion and interest.

"Yeah," Natasha continued, "You said it just turns off sometimes, and you don't know when or why. Normally you'd catch my punch there, right?"

Peter bitterly agreed, showing it by nodding, rather than talking.

"So why didn't you there?” She paused for the dramatic effect more than anything. “You were distracted. You weren't paying much attention before either. Seems like if something’s bothering you too much, that little spidey-sense might just turn off. Just a theory though.”

Oh. _Oh._ That actually made sense. Peter was overthinking and paranoid, and it's been on his mind for far too long. Much like with exams and assessments.

"Damn, sorry, just like... wow..." Peter probably should have thought more about his word choice before trying to reply. "I mean, yeah, that makes sense. Theory or not, thank you."

"Hey, don't sweat it. If you want, we can run the ‘abilities test’ by you, it’s just the basic how strong you are, and what are your enhancements. Nothing official, just something we do for fun. You're part of the team, and I said this before, but don't be afraid to ask for help." Her gaze turned harder by the end of the sentence as if to make sure he gets the message. 

He eagerly nodded, understanding by now that her scary facade was sometimes just a way to make sure her friends were okay. Which meant Spider-Man was a friend. The Black Widow's friend, a powerful ally. And a test of his abilities… interesting.

And wasn't that all that mattered? Spider-Man's faced criticism since the beginning of his vigilante days, the fact that a minority of the Avengers also see him as some problem shouldn't be new. The media is a much more powerful weapon. And, a good bunch of the Avengers _do_ like him. _Think positive Parker._

He was fine, time will pass, and relations will improve. He'll-

He'll be jumping out of his own skin as an alarm rang loud enough to wake every resident in the building.

"Code: Assemble."F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s powerful voice came from the ceiling, her tone much different to that one that previously addressed Peter. "Code: Assemble."

She repeated the phrase several times before it clicked in Peter's what it meant. Assemble, to _assemble_ the team. He jumped to his feet faster than his brain could comprehend, Natasha already several steps ahead of him, beckoning him to follow her.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., who called the alarm?" The Black Widow didn't waste any time as she marched herself and Peter out of the training facilities.

"Rogers is calling all active Avengers, or allies, to the conference room." Natasha adjusted course accordingly, Peter hastily following her, not understanding what was going on but still having a bit of a grasp on the severity of the situation.

They didn't walk far before Sam joined them on their path. Merely nodding at each other, the two more experienced Avengers rushed up the stairs, with Peter following closely behind. At the top, through the glass conference wall, there greeted them an anxious Steve pacing inside, and a holograph in the middle showed the reason for the alarm.

"What the hell...?" Sam asked, almost to himself.

"We need to go. Now." Natasha snapped.

Peter was suddenly quite unsure of his position. Stark was somewhere across the Atlantic, and Barton was scoping out the mission sight. Spider-Man is going in alone in this one. Or as alone as he could be.

"No time to waste then," Steve turned back to the team, "Grab your gear, we leave in ten." 

* * *

During the flight, they let Tony know what was happening, but no matter how fast he flew, Iron Man would not make it in time for the fight. The Avenger's base was far closer and breaking the sound barrier definitely cut downtime. As they approached the Quinjet lurched down, the unexpected force catching Peter off-guard, and landed very roughly only a few feet from the fight. Or skirmish rather. Some illegal weapon makers and smugglers, the local police and, of course, the only on-scene Avenger.

Arrows were stuck in walls and ground, almost all of them pinning down some thug, aimed with years of practice as to not injure the victim. It was clear that Clint had been at it for quite some time. And yet despite the effort, things were slowly spiralling out of control; some people were getting away, and others fighting back a bit too successfully.

"Clint?" Captain asked, exiting the jet, "We're on sight, what's your status?"

They got a strained wheeze in return. "Took you long enough." 

"We broke the sound barrier and all..." Sam grumbled.

"We're running over to you now." Steve continued, ignoring the usual bickering between teammates, "Are civilians out of the way?"

"Who do you take me for?" The archer bit back, "It's just the weapon developers left, trying to contain their failed experiment."

"Uh, experiment?" Peter couldn't help but cough out, picturing some unholy monster. No one talked during the flight, so all of Peter's ideas about the mission came from a quick look in the conference room. At least some of the adults looked a bit guilty for leaving their teammate in the dark, and Sam proceeded to hastily fill him in on the details.

The building's renovations were supposedly a cover-up for some weapon manufacturing and dealing. One of the two boxes the Avengers couldn't retrieve last time was tracked to be here, its unusual signature reading leaving an easy trail to follow. There were some other words thrown at him, but Peter got the gist of the idea. Bag guys need to be taken down for their illegal actions, and it's connected to the other mission. Got it.

They were just a few steps from the fight when Hawkeye met them halfway, only a few scratches or bruises visible, and about half his arrows depleted. Just a nod between the two parties was enough, making Peter felt ever so slightly out of sync with the others.

"Spider-Man," His head snapped up at the Captain's voice, "Can you get everyone out of the building? Falcon, fly around the building and apprehend anyone who runs out. We'll take care of the ones already outside."

Peter nodded and leapt off towards the building before the others even took a step. Throwing himself feet first into the top floor window, Peter got to work. Making his way from top to bottom, he was met with everyone from scared employees to angry fighting employees. Or whatever people working in criminal organisations were called. It didn't matter when he threw them out the window webbed up in a cocoon. One time the Falcon caught one, so Peter assumed the guy was bringing down all others to the ground.

Overall, Peter came up with little resistance. Part of him wondered if the Captain sent him here because he knew it would be safer, with less dangerous enemies. But, the walls were cracked and floor awkward under his feet, forcing him to reconsider that thought. Maybe Spider-Man was just dispensable.

Then the ground jumped under his feet.

A shift, grumble, and the walls started breaking. Dust began falling from above, closely followed by pebbles and tiny rocks. Adrenaline surged through his body. Yup, he was dispensable.

The comms crackled up with questions and answers alike, all parties reporting, but Peter ignored them, favouring to keep working. Karen brought up thermal signatures in his H.U.D. and Peter followed them. It was a good system. Left door, a panicked guy hiding under the desk. On the balcony, some sniper shooting down towards the police.

The ground lurched again, much harsher this time.

"Uh, h-hey guys, is that shaking normal?" Peter froze on the spot, trying his best to just keep breathing, and not think of the building falling, walls closing in and being stuck and trapped and -

" _Are still you in the building?_ " Clint's voice pulled him back down to Earth.

"Uh, yes but-"

" _What? Get out of there, kid!_ " Sam yelled over the comms.

"Just a second, I just- " He was paralysed. Peter tried and tried to take a breath, but his heart had leapt into his throat. He tried to shove down his fears and ignore any rising panic attacks, but he couldn't. 

" _Spider, what are you doing?_ "

Whether or not Peter was terrified frankly didn't matter, he had to get out. Or he would die. 

" _Spider-Man!_ "

Peter willed his legs to move, to then walk and finally run. The young hero stumbled back towards the exit, ignoring the temptation to simply curl into a ball somewhere. Suddenly the guy under the desk seemed to have the right idea.

"Spider!" The last voice was closer, and not over the earpiece.

Quickly turning a corner, Peter was back in the lobby and on the far end of it, stood Captain America. It was hard to tell whether or not the man was angry or just worried, especially with the half-face mask, but the gleaming eyes suggested he was perhaps a little ticked off.

"Steve, what the hell are _you_ doing?" Natasha's yelling rose above the others.

The Captain didn't reply to her. He gestured for Peter to follow, staying inside at the exit rather than going out again to emphasise the point. Of course, with the ground unstable and rocking under his feet though, it took some time for Peter to gain any speed. His thoughts stayed on the next step, spidey-sense helping him twist and weave through the falling chunks. Don't jump on that crack. That's a good footing, push harder. He could do this.

Until he couldn't. Rogers was still inside, waiting for him, and doing so right under a soon to be a cave-in. Peter just hoped what he was about to do didn't ruin his already fragile reputation with the team's Captain. 

Skittering to a stop, Peter took a quick breath, and with two quick webs at Rogers, he pulled. Yanking harder than Spider-Man would usually allow himself, Peter barely registered the fact that he just made Captain America scream and fly several feet. And just in time too.

The ceiling did indeed collapse. Everything around them collapsed.

The ground tore open, cracks grew and broke, and the walls leaned in. Maybe someone was yelling, the comms definitely crackled with many voices, but the breaking metal screeched louder. Peter saw the Captain shift onto his elbows, looking around in a flurry, probably not as up to speed with their situation as Peter.

The chaos continued. A pillar missed the duo narrowly, while chunks of ceiling blocked off the main exit. Then a wall came right at them. A wall was collapsing onto them, like a fly swat going in for the kill.

A nameless dread engulfed him. Spider-Man jumped before he thought his idiotic plan through. Hopping over Rogers, he braced against the impact and shielded his teammate.

He braced and waited. The smack of a wall would come at him any second. But he could lift it, he knew that. No matter how much it terrified him, to be in that predicament again, he could do it.

Gently, more like a pat than a smack, the weight settled on his back.

Peter suppressed a shiver. He braced for it to push down, to crush him.

It shifted, some dust falling onto his head.

No, that wasn't right. It will fall. So Peter pre-emptively pushed back.

* * *

One moment Steve was waiting for Spider-Man to cross the lobby and get out, and the next the guy stopped and shot him. With webs, sure, but still.

Two white strings flew through the air, smashing into him with a surprisingly strong force, and suddenly then Steve was yanked forward. Maybe he screamed, maybe he didn't, but the roar and crash around likely drowned out all other noise. 

Smacking onto the ground, Steve felt the roof crash down behind him rather than heard it, his mind not quite catching up to what had just happened. He looked up in a flurry, hoping to make sense of their situation. Steve only caught the last speck of light vanishing, along with a glimpse of dust and rubble crashing down beside him.

Silence and darkness enveloped them all too quickly.

Steve didn't dare move. He wasn't crushed by anything, no pain or numbness radiating through his body, but it doesn't mean that the rubble isn't close around him. His eyes were already adjusting, so there must have been at least some light in the little cavern.

" _Steve? Steve, come in!_ "

Before he could reply, a grunt from his left brought Steve's attention to another unfortunate person under all this rubble. Spider-Man. 

The guy who instead of reporting on his progress, or jumping out a window when the building initially started shaking, decided to stay inside and work silently. Who also yanked Steve further into the building, but away from a crumbling ceiling. Huh, Spider-Man saved his life.

Another huff sounded, bit more strained. Steve's anxiety spiked.

"Spider-Man?" The Captain finally looked up, "Are you hurt?"

In the dim light that leaked in through, Steve could roughly make out the distinct red and blue silhouette of Spider-Man straining against a wall.

"Spider-Man?"

" _Rogers, what's going on in there?_ "

Steve tapped his earpiece, effectively muting it. He had another problem. Something was off about the scene. Spider-Man was pushing, but the wall, well it wasn't actually falling. The guy was trying to get out, but he was probably going to shift something instead.

"Stop pushing you're making it worse!" The guy wasn't listening.

Muttering a quiet 'screw it', Steve moved into a crouch, hitting his head on the rubble above. His blood instantly ran cold, but Steve didn't pause in his fear and moved closer to the vigilante.

"Spidey, you need to stop!" Grabbing Spider-Man by the shoulders, Steve tried to physically tear the guy away from the wall. Whether it was super-strength or the odd sticking ability, but Steve's effort went unnoticed. Spider-Man didn't even budge. He was, however shaking. And not just from muscle tension, no, it was fear. Steve needed to change tactics if he didn't want to be crushed.

"Spidey?" With a gentler touch, Steve tried to remember what Bucky would do to calm him down, "Hey, it's fine, don't push. It's okay. Breathe."

Spider-Man froze, finally no longer pushing.

"We're safe. We just need to sit still. We got lucky, okay?" Steve hoped his voice came off as sympathetic as he intended, and not a little bitter as he realised it sounded.

The masked-hero looked up at Steve, mask lenses shrinking and expanding a few times as if he were shutting his eyes and opening them over and over.

Steve tried to push further. "Can you let go of the wall?"

Slowly, not trusting anything around, Spider-Man dropped his hands and leaned forward. The wall held. However, it had fallen, it seemed to have gotten caught on something, leaving a gap in the rubble. They were so goddam lucky.

Steve settled down, seeing as there was barely enough space to stand and crouching got tiring really quickly. Spider-Man hesitantly followed, sitting it seemed as far away as possible in the small area. The guy shook his head harshly and crossed his arms over in a somewhat self-hug. 

After he was sure Spider-Man wasn't going to jump up again, Steve reported to the team, cries of relief answering back. Now all they had to do was wait. Alone together in the dark for maybe an hour, or however long it will take to dig them up. Great. 

At first, it was quiet, not even the sounds outside made it through, although as far as Steve knew his hearing was not that of Spider-Man's. The guy just sat there, rocking a little bit, taking a shaky deep breath every once in a while. They sat and waited and listened, but really all they had was each other. A little ironic.

Out of the blue Spider-Man mumbled something. "..rry..."

"Hm? Sorry, didn't catch that."

Spider-Man cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"For what?" The spiderling looked up, caught off guard by the question.

"Uh, for like, freaking out there," Spider-Man replied.

"Oh," _It's okay? Are you calm now?_ "We all freak out sometimes."

"N-no, I just..." He didn't finish the sentence and instead started picking at some dirt on the ground. The silence resumed.

Steve listened to his teammates outside for a while. When that grew old, he muted it again. By now the dimness was familiar, but it was boring. No time like to get to know each other like when you're stuck under tons of rubble. Steve wasn't calling it a questioning, but rather a growth in trust. Spider-Man _did_ save him. And then nearly shifted tons of debris above to crush him but that seemed to be out of terror rather than intention.

"So," Steve said, "I guess we're stuck here for the time being."

He got a quiet hum in response. Not helpful.

"You feeling better now?" Steve asked.

"Kinda." The voice did not sound convincing at all. Steve reached over to clasp a hand on Spider-Man's shoulder, a sort of reassurance act. When he did, however, he felt Spider-Man trembling. With a mask on Steve couldn't read the guy, which was annoying, but the shaking in itself spoke volumes. Didn't Spider-Man survive a plane cra-

Steve gave a few cautious pats on the back.

"Look, uh, you don't know me much, nor I know you, but," Steve begrudgingly put aside any differences, "Did you- Well, do you want to talk about that 'freak-out', as you put it?"

After a moment, Spider-Man uncoiled from his self-hug. "It's nothing, really."

Steve sighed. "I know you're a capable fighter and all, but I'm not a complete idiot. That seemed an awful lot like a panic attack. Talking about such problems makes it better-"

"I'm fine." Spider-Man's voice had a spark of fire in it. "Just freaked out when the building collapsed. It's reasonable. No biggie." Did he sound a bit like an angry... teenager?

"I- I'm just asking." Steve replied, "Jesus Christ, I'm not so happy about any of this, either."

"Good. We're on the same page then."

"Sure, but," And Steve couldn't believe he was _still_ trying to play the good Captain role here, "If you're going to join on missions, then tell me if something's wrong."

When Spider-Man didn't answer right away, Steve thought that there was no getting through to the guy. But he did, and Spider-Man said something that caught Steve off guard.

"Look, I know you don't trust me."

It really felt like a slap in the face. "I- What?"

"I heard you and Falcon talking earlier."

"Oh." At least they're both aware of it now. "Wait, no one was around, that's a clear pathway. And there's no way you had access to those rooms."

"I was... on the ceiling. Well, no, I was on the ceiling of the balcony you two were walking on."

If Sam were to ask Steve why he doesn't like Spider-Man now, it would definitely be because of the crawling around and listening in to private conversations. "Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why were you on the ceiling? Why did you listen in? You think you're helping your case here?"

"You started talking about me, jeez. Don't talk behind someone's back, ever heard that saying? And I was just..." Spider-Man sighed in frustration.

In the stressed atmosphere, the walls around had never felt so close. Steve didn't know how to continue the conversation, for the most part, he was a bit ticked off and didn't want to say anything he regretted too much. Despite the burning curiosity and all the questions Steve wished he got the answers to, it was very unlikely that he would get anything out of Spider-Man now.

And so the silence resumed.

Awfully quieter, stressful as before, but now with a layer of uncomfortableness added. Through the comms, Steve learned that they were going to be dug out in about an hour, bringing an end to this experience. Spider-Man meanwhile kept picking at the dirt, twitching at any sounds from the rubble around, and deep in thought. It felt like both parties simply refused to acknowledge the other's presence.

Until Spider-Man spoke, "I got a building dropped on me once."

* * *

Oh, he wishes he could take it back now.

Why? Why in Thor's name did Peter just tell _Captain America_ that he once got a building dropped on him? The guy hates him, Peter should really hate him too. He hadn't even told Tony Stark that, and they were much better friends. 

_Friends? Colleagues. No, friends, we had a pillow fight_. Bringing himself back to relevant thoughts, Peter realised the Captain was now staring at him expectedly. 

"S-sorry, what?"

"I said, what? You got a building dropped on you!?" Was that... worry? Or maybe deep down it was anger. Peter just wondered why the guy was so surprised.

"You're the one who said I should talk about the 'freak-out'." Peter hoped Rogers could see the quotation mark hand gesture he made in the dark. Given that his own extreme eyesight could barely make out anything, it was unlikely.

"And you walked out of it?"

Oh, so now he wanted to know more about Spider-Man. Instead of making assumptions. "Obviously."

Peter glanced over and was met with a worried look. Somehow that sentence changed Rogers' entire attitude.

"Wh- Why didn't you just run out then?"

"What and leave you to die? I have _some_ morals if you must know." Peter said, making sure the Captain could hear how annoyed Spider-Man was. "I wasn't about to just let Captain America die in some rubble..."

"Yeah, well..." Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw the guy scratching the back of his head, probably wondering whether or not to finish the thought. "I just know how much getting a crapload of rubble thrown on you feel."

Peter did a double-take at the statement and fully looked up to face his companion. Two questions raced through his mind, and surprisingly 'what do you mean by that' wasn't the first one.

"Did you just swear?"

"It slipped out." Rogers seemed to almost smile, but that could be the darkness playing tricks, "What I meant is, I'm surprised you didn't flee when the building started shaking. Because I know it can be scary."

Peter unhugged himself a little. Somehow, it felt nice. It felt nice that he finally told someone what happened with the Vulture. And that someone listened. Of course, as bad as it is, it was also nice that he wasn't the only one with such an experience.

"What happened?" Peter asked, and they finally talked for real this time.

Not one-word answers and snappy comments but actual dialogue. Steve told him about how he and Natasha infiltrated an old S.H.I.E.L.D. base but got ambushed, and Peter soaked in every word, surprised at how easily Steve talked about it. Then Peter tried to explain his side, but between the close calls of yet another panic attack and trying to avoid the words 'homecoming' and 'highschool' it proved rather tricky.

Not too long and they more comfortably returned to the previous topic, why Steve mistrusted, not hated, just _slightly_ mistrusted, Spider-Man. Like a school debate, they just presented their cases and talked through each argument. Peter couldn't read minds, of course, but Steve was having a change of heart. He still might not trust Spider-Man completely, but at least he wasn't as sceptical as before. Or paranoid if one asked Sam.

The secret identity thing though was just an inconvenience now.

"I know that's your whole thing," Steve said, "It'll just help the team morale at the moment." 

"Okay, I hear you, but I just can't do that. No one is supposed to know, it's for the better." Peter left out that several people, too many for his liking, already knew.

"Give it a thought at least. Because maybe-"

Steve didn't finish. Light erupted from above, somehow the sounds around had drowned out during their conversation. They both flinched from the sudden light. Peter's mask activated the darkest filter it could muster so that he could look up at their freedom.

An Iron Man faceplate stared down at them. "You guys need some help there or too busy making small talk?"

"I see you made it, Tony." Steve smiled, standing up for the first time in hours.

"Yeah, yeah, Pepper wasn't too happy I blew off the meeting like that."

Peter eagerly followed the lead and climbed out. Turns out the majority of the building hadn't even fallen, they were just unlucky to be at the wrong place. Lucky to survive, of course.

"You alright kid?" Tony gave him a quick look over, a worried mother-hen in the making. "Broken bones? Bleeding? Don't you dare lie."

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" The spider-ling answered. He glanced over at Steve, who was being pestered by the other Avengers in a similar fashion. The Captain looked back, and they shared a nod, a mutual understanding between them.

"Well, if Rogers gave you shit while you two were stuck there, let me know," Tony said.

"Nah, it was fine. Really."

And things really did seem to look up.

The mission was different than what they planned, but when do things ever go to plan anyway. The last box was retrieved, along with a dozen other prototypes, many workers and information on other locations. Peter didn't listen to the conversation on the flight back, exhaustion seeping into his bones. A swing upstate from Queens, a sparring session and then the mission... he was done. Completely and uttered done.

Peter caught himself nodding off once. Twice. But on the third or so, he fell into the pleasant warmth of sleep. He was safe with the Avengers; they'll probably just wake him up when they landed anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hello there! *dodges thrown tomatoes*  
> Yeah, I'm back from hibernation and updating this fic. One thing that I can promise is I will finish this fic, even if it may take a little longer.
> 
> Truth be told I've started a much bigger writing project and have written more there than here in the last... like 4 months.
> 
> if you guys just enjoy my writing style or my take on these characters, then please check out that project too:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/21007805/chapters/49961291
> 
> Summary:  
> Bruce and Tony had been building a portal since 2012, and when the surviving Avengers desperately turn it on, someone unexpected falls through.  
> Chris Evans? Mark Ruffalo? Why is this person calling them the wrong names? What in all the multiverses are they on about?


End file.
